Pulling the network cable has different effects depending on the OS you're running. As another poster said, Windows detects it and invalidates any existing connections. Your application should get a connection closed message in that case.
My Linux server on the other hand deals with it quite gracefully. After an extended (30-40 seconds) de-cabling the other day the SSH connection from my laptop to the server was still happily available and responsive.
As long as the cable is not unplugged longer than the TCP timeouts the stack should be able to buffer up packets and retransmit them as soon as possible. TCP is designed for that. If you're not using TCP then the packets will fall out of the Ethernet hole and evaporate into the atmosphere.
@einstein: If you're using select() or derivatives it pays to never select with a NULL timeout. Always have a sensible timeout and check the socket status if it expires.