After seeing the horrors of war in Sarajevo, Lt. Thomas F. Hobbes is ready to settle down with his fiance, Sophie. However the military has one last assignement for him, to test out Harsh Realm, a virtual reality construct created by the military for combat training.

However once inside Harsh Realm, Hobbes soon finds himself fighting for his life, struggling to understand what is real and what is not. He forms an aliance with another soldier, Mike Pinochio, who is uninterested in helping this new recruite. But a mysterious woman named Florence believes Hobbes to be Harsh Realm's savior and will deliver the virtual characters from the oppresive reigns of Omar Santiago, the military dictator who rules over Harsh Realm.

Hobbes realises that the only way to escape Harsh Realm is to beat the highest scoring player, Santiago, who is unwilling to give up his kingdom. Hobbes' mission now is only to escape Harsh Realm by any means necessary to return home to his fiance.