Lifelong best friends Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) join the U.S. Army Air Corps as pilots. Rafe falls for a nurse named Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale), but their romance is interrupted when he volunteers to fight with the British RAF in Europe.

Rafe's plane is shot down over the English Channel, and he is presumed dead. In their shared grief, Danny and Evelyn, now stationed at Pearl Harbor, find comfort in each other and begin a relationship.

: This part directly references the movie's title and release year. "Pearl Harbor" is a historical military drama that captures a pivotal moment in American history.