Plot summary

Two years after the misanthropic bonobo Koba attacked the human survivors in San Francisco, Caesar and his tribe of intelligent apes have been forced against a rogue U.S. military faction known as Alpha-Omega led by a ruthless colonel. Alpha-Omega employs other apes formerly loyal to Koba, derogatorily called "donkeys". An Alpha-Omega platoon launches an attack on an ape outpost, but it fails and four soldiers, including one named Preacher and a "donkey" gorilla named Red, are captured. Caesar releases the soldiers, hoping the display of mercy will show the Colonel that the apes are not savages; Red escapes by injuring the albino gorilla Winter. Later, Caesar's eldest son Blue Eyes and lieutenant Rocket return from a long journey. Blue Eyes reports that they found a place across the desert that is ideal for the apes. Despite an uneasy Winter asserting that the apes should leave immediately, Caesar decides they need to prepare first. That night, the Colonel leads a team of soldiers in infiltrating the apes' home, killing Blue Eyes and Caesar's wife Cornelia; Caesar unsuccessfully attempts to prevent the Colonel's escape. Afterward, the apes are unable to find Winter, who they believe betrayed them out of fear.