Navy lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee is assigned to take over a case, defending two Marines, Dawson and Downey, who are accused of murder. He travels to the scene of the crime to investigate and learns from the base commander, Colonel Jessep: It turns out that the victim, Santiago, had previously been in conflict with Dawson and Downey. For this reason, he might have faced "Code Red" punishment. "Code Red" refers to physical punishment carried out by soldiers with the tacit approval of officers. Fearing retaliation from Dawson and Downey, Santiago had requested a transfer out of the base. However, shortly after, he was found dead in his room, leading to Dawson and Downey being considered as the prime suspects. As Kaffee is about to leave...