After having a little accident on the set of his latest monster movie, Hannibal has to spend the night in a hospital. From there he is kidnapped and brought before the mysterious retired general Hunt Stockwell, who proposes a mission to free the passengers of a hijacked plane. One passenger in particular interests them both: Captain Curtis, the one man who could prove the A-Team's innocence in the '72 Hanoi bank job. Hannibal decides to take along the young special effects man who was responsible for landing him in the hospital, 'Dishpan' Frankie Santana. As the five of them leave for Spain, Stockwell designated them the call-numbers 'Empress' 7 to 12.

Betrayed by Josh Curtis, the A-Team has finally been captured and is put on trial for the murder of their commanding officer in Vietnam, Col Samuel Morrison. In court they recall exactly what happened during that fateful bank job on 27 January 1971. New evidence implies that Morrison was working with the Viet Cong and that Murdock may have discovered it. When The A-Team is asked to incriminate their favorite pilot, Hannibal makes a startling decision.

The A-Team has been convicted for murder and will face a firing squad within 24 hours. Murdock escapes from the V.A. hospital in a straight jacket. He and Frankie Santana force their way aboard General Stockwell's private plane. Stockwell gives them information concerning Barier Island, where the others are being held. He also visits the Team in their cell, proposing they do a specified number of missions for him (not all of them suicidal) in return for a full, presidential pardon.

An East German scientist is perfecting a powerful chemical weapon and is willing to defect. The Team goes there undercover as a football team that will challenge a German group of athletes in an exhibition contest of American football.

The members of the A-Team are living the good life with a bunch of bikini clad babes at their private resort in Langley, Virginia when General Stockwell arrives with his assistant Carla and Scout master Murdock. Alexander Martien, Dictator of San Marcos, has taken three U.S. citizens hostage. The Team is dropped off at San Marcos by submarine and hooks up with a group of revolutionaries. Frankie finds a love interest in the shape of a local girl, Bonita Guajevos. When Faceman is thrown into the same cell as the three hostages, they turn out to be American Intelligence Agents with Russians on their trail.

Stockwell is contacted by Ivan Trigorin, aka "Brown Fox", his former partner at the CIA for nearly ten years. The Russian is looking for a top secret stealth bomber the Americans have stolen from the Soviets and starts torturing the General for information. Carla informs the A-Team they have 36 hours to find Stockwell, or the entire operation will cease to be and they will become fugitives once more. Using Frankie's cousin's mobile home as a base, all signs lead to a psychiatric hospital in L.A. So, Murdock has to act insane once more and impersonates Frank Sinatra.

Using the call sign Empress 7, Hannibal Smith has disappeared on a solo mission for General Stockwell in Hong Kong involving a plutonium theft. Naturally The A-Team wants to go get him, but Stockwell, an expert on the region, insists on leading the mission. They soon find Alice Heath, who was working with Hannibal on the case, but no sign of the Colonel himself. Face and Murdock (Empress 8 and 9) do some investigating of their own and meet a young street peddler called Bobby.