the year is 1970. impressionable twenty-year-old jimmy cramer returns to the safety and security of his family’s south dakota farm after a tour of duty in viet nam. to his younger brother billy; his parents; his best friend larry; and his girl friend sandra; he returns a decorated war hero. but why doesn’t he ever willingly talk about how or why he was decorated? could he return to his home and family and friends from the swamps of viet nam as the same person he was before he left? in this touching and often compelling novel of war, american youth, love, and compassion, we follow the plight of this reluctant war hero who struggles to pick up the pieces of his life that the war interrupted. can he adjust, or will the viet nam conflict claim another casualty?