Mirroring the chaotic nature of the American experience at war in Vietnam, this memoir recounts the experiences of a young Marine Corps officer in a series of unrelated short pieces. The flow of the narrative is as ephemeral and fragmented as the war itself. The only resolution is the same one reached by the Marines who fought- an ending of a tour of duty with no happy ending. Each chapter describes a specific event, a story of emotion, or a remarkable person (some are heroes, some are cowards, most are tragic). The reader lives the experience alongside the author's memory, gaining a true sense of the pulse-pounding contact, surrealism, pathos, humor, and beauty that defined one of the low points of the American experience.