Hank is a retired Sergeant with the Military Police. He receives a call informing him that his youngest son, Mike, has gone AWOL. He thought his son was in Iraq, but is informed that Mike returned stateside four days ago with his platoon. When he calls his son's cell phone and gets voice mail, he drives to Fort Rudd and begins to make inquiries, but with each inquiry he comes to a dead end. Then a body is found, dismembered and burned beyond recognition and is identified as Mike. Hank tries to find out what happened, but continues to encounter hurdles. Yet he is persistent, uncovering things no one wants to hear, including himself.

Special features: "In the valley of Elah: after Iraq" featurette; "In the valley of Elah: coming home" featurette; additional scenes.