Having survived the childhood recorded in "This Boy's Life", Tobias Wolff finds himself serving in Vietnam and assigned to a unit in the Mekong Delta. Innocent, self-deluded but rapidly growing less so, he fumbles his way through close shaves and foolish risks; for, despite his impressive credentials as a paratrooper and former Green Beret, he recognizes in himself laughably little talent for the military life. A young officer out of his depth, he lives in boredom and terror and grief for lost friends, then and in the years to come, he reckons the cost of staying alive.