Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

2012年2月，戰地記者瑪麗科爾文 (Marie Colvin) 和攝影師保羅康羅伊 (Paul Conroy) 非法潛入敘利亞。他們無視該國政府對外國記者發出的禁令，成為首批試圖報導霍姆斯平民故事的記者。他們發現這座圍城已慘遭戰火蹂躪，而兩人最終只有一人活著回來。《Under the Wire》用引人入勝的方式一步步追溯兩人進入霍姆斯的旅程，令人不寒而慄的影像不但記錄了數以千計敘利亞平民被當地政府屠殺的慘況，也是對科爾文和康羅伊最後一趟任務的紀念，向兩人的勇氣致敬。本片由頂尖攝影記者講述故事，搭配英國知名報社頂尖特派員和編輯的訪談，帶大家一窺戰地記者最大的動力: 驅使著他們的那股力量，揭露真相的力量，以及他們甘冒生命危險報導故事的理由。