Captain Elizabeth Pepperhawk survived Vietnam, but will she survive Fort Bragg? Whoever dressed a body in a World War II uniform and put it in her bed in the Transient Officers Quarters wants to shorten not only her career, but her life. The Army's Criminal Investigation Division identifies the victim as Dermid Hagan. According to Army records, Specialist Hagan died in a traffic accident in Saigon, two years earlier. Pepper becomes friends with her neighbors, Avivah Rosen, a military police captain, and Benny Kirkpatrick, a green beret. They all have problems with the Army. Pepper has a drinking problem acquired in Vietnam. Avivah's repeated requests for a position in Southeast Asia have been turned down because she's female. Benny loves a woman whose husband is missing in action. The three friends band together to help one another survive and to investigate the murder. They soon discover that Womack Army Hospital holds more than one secret . . . When Pepper persists in asking too many questions in the wrong places, she places several people in danger. As the investigation spins out of control, and with Pepper's life at stake, Benny and Avivah must work together to catch a determined, cold-blooded killer who has Pepper in his sights.