January 1993. Somalia. Operation Restore Hope. A Marine platoon pulling a security patrol runs into an insurgent ambush in Mogadishu, and when the platoon commander winds up unconscious from a blow to the head taken when an IED rolls his command Humvee, and the First Sergeant is killed as soon as he exits his vehicle, command falls to a badly wounded gunnery sergeant - initially trapped in the same vehicle with his platoon commander and their driver, but conscious and alert and ready to bring some personal hell down on the RIFs...if he can just get out of this damn vehicle, grab a rifle, and drag himself and his busted-up, non-working leg over to a firing point without bleeding out. June 1993. Washington, DC. A First Lieutenant with a freshly-healed scar on his head encounters a beautiful redheaded floor nurse at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He's there to see his Gunny, who's been stuck in the hospital with a broken femur since he was transported home in February. He's the platoon commander who was knocked hors de combat by the IED, and he's been sent to find out why his Gunny is obstinately refusing to accept an important decoration for his participation in the incident. Turns out that's going to be quite a job, because Gunny's got his reason. Will the Lieutenant, and his ally the nurse, be able to convince his Gunny there's a better reason to accept the decoration? Might be they'll need a little help from a friend...