The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Maxwell Slaughter is a kind, heavyset guy who has reached the rank of master sergeant in the army. Admired by handsome young Sgt. Eustis Clay, Slaughter forms a close bond with his peer. Clay hopes to convince Slaughter to join him in a business venture outside of the service, but, in the meantime, he introduces the older officer to the beautiful young Bobby Jo Pepperdine, inadvertently creating trouble for both men.
During the Cold War, John Goldfarb crashes his spy plane in the Middle East and is taken prisoner by the local government. His captor, King Fawz, soon discovers that Goldfarb used to be a college football star. So he issues him an ultimatum: coach his country's football team, or Fawz will surrender him to the Russians. Goldfarb teams up with undercover reporter Jenny Ericson, and together they plot to escape their dangerous situation.
