When hostile aliens, the Formics, attack Earth, only the legendary heroics of Mazer Rackham manage to attain a victory. To prepare for the next attack, Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and his cohorts initiate a military program to find the next Mazer. Recruit Ender Wiggin exhibits an unusual gift for the training, easily mastering all of the challenges thrown at him. Mazer Rackham himself takes Ender as a protégé to prepare him for the oncoming war.