"Shooter" (a.k.a., Matt Thompson, a.k.a., Gruwald) is a photographer in 1967 Saigon, Vietnam. Working out of a news agency for a major magazine, Thompson gets involved in the lives of the soldiers he meets and "shoots." There's Ngoc, the Vietnamese photo lab tech; Klause, a German photographer swiping Buddhas; Rene, a French photographer who carries an AK-47; Stork, Matt's superstitious roommate who is also a photographer; Rizzo, the irascible editor; Lan, an American-educated Vietnamese reporter; and Tracey, an embassy worker who is Matt's former flame.