On a dark night of pelting rain, five men stage a well-planned train robbery and get away with a $10 millionr, nine-ton gold shipment. Dividing the massive haul into three concealed truck loads, the team make a would-be inconspicuous escape across country to what they hope will be a perfect getaway.

In California, the former Navy SEAL Chon and his best friend, the peaceful botanist Ben, are successful entrepreneurs producing and dealing high-quality weed. Chon brought seeds from Afghanistan and Ben used his knowledge to develop the best marijuana in the country. Chon and Ben share the pothead lover Ophelia and she loves both of them since they complete each other - Chon is a powerful and strong lover and Ben is a sensible and loving lover. Their comfortable life changes when the Mexican Baja Cartel demands a partnership in their business. Chon and Ben refuse the deal and the leader of the cartel Elena sends her right-arm in America, Lado, to abduct Ophelia to press the American drug dealers. Chon and Ben ask the support of the dirty DEA Agent Dennis and get inside information to begin a secret war against the Baja Cartel to release Ophelia.

Walter Black ('Mel Gibson') is depressed and sleeps most of the day. It's driving his family crazy, and his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) kicks him out. Walter starts carrying a beaver puppet and tries to commit suicide (unsuccessfully). He uses the puppet to talk to himself, trying to bolster his spirits, and is trying to rebuild his life. Through the beaver, the family begins to learn about Walter's history and problems, and as he continues rebuilding, the beaver shows us all a way to cope.

During the Vietnam War, a village that American forces are using to spy on the Ho Chi Minh Trail has its sacred elephant killed by the North Vietnamese Army because they were cooperating with the Americans. The villagers need an elephant for a ceremony that will occur within the week. Captain Sam Cahill, an easygoing man who is heading home, and his hotheaded replacement Captain TC Doyle scrounge up another elephant with the help of sneaky supply chief warrant officer David Poole, luckless farmboy Lawrence Farley, and short-timer Harvey Ashford, and transport it across South Vietnam to get it to the village on time, running into all sorts of transport problems, personality conflicts, and an NVA squad that wants the Americans out of the village.