Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) is the captain of a South Korean Special Forces unit.

He and his friend Sergeant Major Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo) are
off-duty when they witness a young man, Kim Ki-bum (Kim Min-seok), steal a motorcycle and apprehend him. The thief is injured during his
capture and was therefore sent to the hospital. Dae-young realizes his cell phone was stolen by the thief and goes to the hospital along with Si-jin
to retrieve his cellphone.
In the emergency room, Si-jin meets Dr. Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) for the first time, and is instantly attracted to her. Mo-yeon mistakenly
assumes Si-jin is part of the thief's criminal gang, due to his nickname "Big Boss", which is actually his call sign in the special forces unit. He
proves his identity with the help of an army surgeon.
Si-jin and Mo-yeon begin to date, but due to their jobs, their dates are often interrupted halfway. Si-jin receives his orders to be deployed on a
peacekeeping mission in the country of Uruk. Meanwhile, Mo-yeon is upset because she had been passed over for professorship in favor of a
colleague who had familial connections to the hospital management. When Si-jin returns and meets Mo-yeon again, they talk about their views
on life and realize how different they are. Si-jin, as a soldier, kills to protect lives while Mo-yeon, as a doctor, honors the Hippocratic Oath and
tries to save lives. Due to this difference in viewpoints on life, they agree to part ways.
Eight months later, Mo-yeon rejections the sexual advances of the hospital director where she is working and, as a result, is assigned to lead a
medical team to Uruk. There, Si-jin and Mo-yeon reunite. Through their encounters in Uruk, an earthquake and an epidemic, their love for each
other grows stronger. Mo-yeon gains an insight into Si-jin's job and is forced to confront the stark reality that she may never have full disclosure
of his whereabouts due to the highly classified nature of his work and the possibility of him being killed in action. While in Uruk, Mo-yeon
accidentally confesses her feelings (much to the amusement of their respective teams) and the two officially start dating.