Rather than accept evacuation, a wounded Marine elects to recover in country before returning to his duties as S-2 (intelligence) chief of a hard-fighting rifle battalion. His light duty assignment takes him to Thach Hanh where he is the only American living in the riverside village of 15,000. In order to accomplish a dangerous and challenging mission to protect the northernmost intact railroad bridge in South Vietnam, Steve must overcome distrust, enemy agents, cultural and social differences, language barriers and outright hostilities in this war-torn setting. "Win their hearts and minds, Kowazlski," he is ordered. Initiating a highly successful civil affairs program while operating a productive intelligence network, the Marine leads the self-defense force into combat and defense of the bridge during the North Vietnamese Easter invasion of 1972.