Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Rhodesian mercenary, trades arms for diamonds with an RUF commander. He is imprisoned after being caught smuggling the diamonds into neighboring Liberia, and the diamonds are confiscated. He had been transporting the diamonds to an Afrikaner mercenary named Colonel Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo), who is in turn employed by South African diamond company executive Van de Kaap (Marius Weyers) and his deputy Simmons (Michael Sheen). Coetzee is Archer’s former commander in 32 Battalion, the most decorated unit of the South African Border War, made up of Angolan and Rhodesian soldiers and white South African officers. Archer is desperate for a way to repay Colonel Coetzee for the diamonds taken from him when he was arrested and thrown in jail, in the same prison as the fisherman. While in prison, he overhears Captain Poison ranting to Solomon about the discovery of the large diamond and decides to hunt down the stone. He arranges for Solomon’s release from prison and offers to help him find his family in exchange for the diamond.
