Taking place prior to the Zentraedi's invasion of Earth, Macross Zero depicts the final stages of conflict between the U.N. Spacy and anti-U.N. factions. After being downed by a cutting-edge anti-U.N. fighter jet, expert pilot Shin Kudo finds himself stranded on the remote Mayan island with limited access to technology. However, Shin's recovery is interrupted when the island is thrust into the midst of a battle involving the highly-advanced U.N. fighter jet, the VF-0.