“Terrorism does not belong to any culture, or religion, or political system” – King Abdullah

American pilots are zooming at high speeds, practicing skilled formation changes when unidentified planes enter the airspace. These pilots are in similar fighter jets, only the pilots are communicating in Arabic. A chase ensues where several missile locks are evaded and tension is high.

Before anyone is shot down, however, the voice of air ops command calls the pilots to return to base, and we see both American and Saudi fighters descend on the same runway. We’re at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, home to the Blue Angels and one of the Navy’s largest international aviator training centers.

The students from the combat training simulation meet to debrief, the American and Saudi pilots exchanging friendly banter and jabs before class begins. Only one of the men appears unable to see the humor in the situation, a Saudi pilot locked into a grimace. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell appears before the class, older, more at ease, wedding ring on his finger and a few extra pounds around his middle. He takes the group through their mistakes, highlighting the one dangerous American pilot (Evan) that breaks all the rules yet still gets his enemy. Maverick both admires and berates Evan, the young reckless pilot that reminds him too much of himself.

When the class adjourns, the irate Saudi (Sefa Amin) confronts the rogue American, and when the scuffle gets heated, Sefa pulls a gun and shoots Evan down, along with two others. Maverick intervenes and kills Sefa.

After the funerals, we hear that international students are uneasy, the Saudis actually returning to their home country. International relations are in need of repair, and Maverick is getting orders to go to Saudi Arabia to help with a local training facility, an effort to keep trust among the two peoples.

He doesn’t want to go, but the higher ups explain that he and his dogfighting school are outdated concepts that have no place in modern American aviation. Drone and missile technology has made pilots like him obsolete to US needs, but America still needs to sell old tech to their allies. If they lose those allies, they lose a lot of money. If the Saudis won’t come to the US, the US goes to the Saudis.

Maverick travels to Saudi Arabia. We see from his simple packing, and leaving his keys in his small apartment, that he has no family to leave behind. He finds his new office at King Abdul-Aziz Air Base in Dhahran. His reception is mixed among the Royal Saudi Air Force in all rankings, and the other US air force personnel already working there make fun of Maverick for taking the training so seriously. They know how useless traditional jet fighters are and show off their drone control room, even killing a sheep in a field with incredible accuracy.

Maverick is troubled by his part in the death of the Saudi pilot, but keeps his focus on training better pilots. Among the squadrons’ F-15s, and Bell 412s, Maverick discovers a handful of abandoned F4 Phantoms, decades-old fighters like his father flew in Vietnam.

One of Maverick’s top students, who seems just as troubled and distant from his colleagues, joins Maverick in repairing the old planes. While most of the men speak English, Khalid speaks little at all. He’s intense, almost frightening, but in helping each other with the planes, they learn enough of each other’s languages to get the job done, and the pair of men develop a tenuous trust. Eventually, Khalid invites Maverick to dinner.

Maverick is unsure, but he sees this man is the closest thing he has to a friend and doesn’t want to offend him. Maverick visits Khalid’s home, surprising the Amin family, (Khalid’s parents and younger siblings) with his knowledge of customs, but Khalid mysteriously leaves Maverick behind. The dinner continues, and discussion is light, until panicked word comes from a neighbor that there has been a terrorist attack at the local market. The family and Maverick rush to help the wounded and put out fires, and some of the locals are upset by Maverick’s presence. The Amins invite Maverick to stay with them for the evening rather than going back to the base.

Before settling in for the evening at the Amin home, Maverick discovers a picture of Sefa, the man who he killed at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. This is his family, and Khalid is Sefa’s brother. Maverick is caught off guard and asks the family if they know who he is. The Amins say they know who he is, and claim not to blame Maverick for his part in Sefa’s death. They say their son was troubled, mixed up with the wrong people, conservative radicals that don’t support western influence. We see how disgusted and fearful they are of the dangerous extremists in their own land, and how hopeful they are for change.

Khalid comes home in the middle of the discussion. He’s angry, and looks like he may have been in a fight. Khalid’s odd behavior confuses and concerns Maverick. He begins to doubt the benign nature of his new friend, despite the kindness of the other Amins. Then a phone call from Khalid and Sefa’s sister comes in, checking on the family. When she hears Maverick is there she asks to speak with him. She tells him to stay away from her family, and Khalid agrees. Maverick should go.

Class the next day is tense. The whole base is discussing the bombing. Khalid goes up against Maverick in combat training, and Maverick gets scared, images of Sefa and the market aftermath corrupting his concentration. Maverick breaks away, but a car pulls up and asks him to get in. Inside is a woman. She’s beautiful, and her hair is exposed. She even shakes Maverick’s hand. Her name is Myriam, and she’s Sefa’s sister.

Myriam takes Maverick to a movie theater where young couples are risking being seen dating. Myriam tells Maverick about the religious, traditionalist, and government influence that has kept Saudi Arabian culture so rigid, but she says times must change. She’s a lawyer and a social activist, and it has made her a target by her own people. The women, covered in head scarves and abayas, and the men in their thobes, sit in the theater and stare at Myriam and Maverick.

She tells him that her family is already met with great strife over their break from traditional views, and her outspoken nature doesn’t help, but both Sefa and Khalid have had it the hardest, defending their family in many physical altercations. Sefa, was actively being recruited by a local terrorist group, then abruptly went to America for aviation training. She still doesn’t know if what he did was a terrorist act or a way to keep from coming home. She’s afraid that Khalid may be in a similar situation. She knows that the same group has approached him as well. She asks Maverick to watch and protect her brother.

Maverick deals with the tension of his unintended integration into the Amin family, unsure if he can trust Khalid, digging into the men he sees the Saudi pilot meet with off base. He reports back to Myriam, each time becoming more familiar with her, and romance blooms, but eventually the drama comes to a head.

Maverick discovers too late that Khalid has given a group of men access to the base, and with an explosive distraction, the bomber jets are stolen to be used for an airstrike on a nearby city. Many of Maverick’s students and the top pilots at the base are wounded or killed, and the drone control center is demolished. Maverick confronts Khalid about what he’s done. He says he had no choice. The men had threatened to kill Myriam and the entire Amin family if he hadn’t helped them.

Khalid and Maverick agree that the terrorists must be stopped, but there’s only a handful of pilots, and the only planes left are the old F4 Phantoms. The Saudi and American pilots take to the skies and track down the terrorists, and after a thrilling dogfight, bring them down and save the city.

The incident has been reported worldwide, and international pilots are pouring into American training facilities with renewed interest in traditional dogfighting techniques. Maverick is called back home to help, and asks Myriam to go with him. She says no. There’s too much to be done for her own people, but she says he’s family now. They part, and we close with Maverick on a commercial flight, flying into the sunset heading back to America.