Lt. Riggs McCall, a maverick young lawyer who is in bad favor with his command. H doesn't fit in because he does what he thinks is right and refuses to plead a young private guilty who is innocent. He is then a pariah, not aligned with the command, and is passed over for Captain. Another pass over and he will be kicked out of the army. He is then appointed to defend a sergeant accused of molesting his teen age daughter, and though Riggs knows the man is guilty, he rigorously defends him, taking aim against the U. S. Army to protect himself while doing his duty as a lawyer to protect his client. Riggs doesn't know that the accused holds the career of high ranking officers in his hands because of something he knows about them. The command does everything possible to convict, even resorting to murder. Riggs uncovers secrets that reach even to the White House and the highest of military command, and becomes a target. Told in first person by John Madison, the scion of a banking family, groomed for the highest office, who finds himself trapped in the web of intrigue and has to choose to follow his conscience or the ambition of his wealthy father. A story partially based on fact, involving romance in the military, sex, homosexuality, a giant cover-up, and a thrilling court martial trial with a totally surprising ending..