A debutante is found raped and murdered at a country club ball in December of 1965. The debutante's boyfriend is convicted of her murder, but an eyewitness knows different. The convicted murderer is given the choice of military service or prison. He chooses the military. The story progresses through the Navy's arduous frogman training to combat in Vietnam, as the falsely convicted murderer and the eyewitness unravel the mystery of who killed the debutante and why. The trail leads to an unscrupulous stepmother, who conspired with a defense contractor.