In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, during May 1973, the Cambodian national army is fighting a civil war with the Khmer Rouge, a result of the Vietnam War overspilling that country's borders. Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and interpreter for ''The New York Times'', awaits the arrival of reporter Sydney Schanberg at the city's airport but leaves suddenly. Schanberg takes a cab to his hotel where he meets up with Al Rockoff. Pran meets Schanberg later and tells him that an incident has occurred in a town, Neak Leung; allegedly, an B-52 Stratofortress has bombed the town.