It was the end of innocence and the dawn of a nation`s greatest glory. Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) grew up like brothers in Tennessee. Now they`re daring young pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Rafe has fallen in love with Evelyn Stewart (Kate Beckinsale), a beautiful U.S. Navy nurse. But when the sounds of war begin to rumble on the horizon, Rafe decides he must leave his new love and his best friend to join Europe`s fight. Swearing to Evelyn and Danny that he will return, Rafe heads off for the deadly skies above the English Channel. Meanwhile, Evelyn and Danny are transferred to Hawaii`s peaceful paradise-Pearl Harbor-unaware of the approach of devastating forces that soon will forever change their lives-and the fate of an entire world.