The Iron Ladies tells the true story of a Thai male volleyball team that competes in the national championships in 1996 with a team consisting mostly of gays, transvestites and transgender players. Mon, who becomes the team leader, was a very talented player who constantly failed to be selected for various teams because he was gay. Jung, Mon's best friend, also experienced the same treatment but was always more optimistic about things. Their chance comes when Coach Bee is selected to put together a winning team, and she announces that the team will be open for all to tryout.

But when the coach selects both Jung and Mon to be on the team, some of the more macho players resign in protest. In order to form a team, the coach asks Mon to find a few of his friends to join the team. They select Nong, a gay sergeant in the army; Pia, a trans star of a cabaret show; and Wit, whose parents don't know that their only son is gay.