After more than three decades as one of the U.S. Navy's top fighter pilots, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell continues to push his limits as a test pilot. He refuses to move up in rank because it would mean giving up flying. He is tasked with training a detachment of young Top Gun school graduates for a special mission no pilot would ever imagine. On this mission, Maverick meets Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, the son of his late friend, navigator Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. Faced with an uncertain future, haunted by his ghosts, Maverick must confront his worst nightmares in a mission that will require the greatest of sacrifices.