The story begins in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where Major Jonathan Fredericks, a widower, lives with his troubled daughter, Bianca. Fredericks is a career army prosecutor charged with investigating soldiers for war crimes. His son, who was also in the military, was recently killed in Afghanistan. Bianca, tortured by her brother's sudden death, now makes it her mission to protect the boys her father is charged with prosecuting. With this in mind, she seeks out Nick Granville, a young soldier who has been charged with a heinous crime. Bianca convinces Nick to run away with her in order to save himself. They take off for Montana where Nick hopes to get help from his former commander, Sergeant Samuel Havesford. Fredericks gets leave to search for the young couple. But Constance Durell, the reporter who broke Nick's story, offers Fredericks her reporter's tracking expertise in exchange for an exclusive, and his desperation forces him to take her along. Soon they are romantically entwined despite their vast ideological differences. The impending tragedy builds to an inescapable conclusion that topples all their worlds in a cataclysm of violence and heartbreak, and Fredericks is forced to reassess both himself and the actions of his country. Area staging. Approximate running time: 2 hours.