Jake Rose's war ended on Iwo Jima. Now, four months later, he sat on the steps of his new law office and tried to enjoy a cup of coffee. It was all the little things about being one-handed that he couldn't get used to. The prosthesis that replaced his right hand was a strange contraption and he hated the damn thing. Jake still followed the war in the papers. But coming home had made no difference, Jake still hated Japs. For weeks Jake had been following the Miyeko Matsui murder in the paper because Gordon Cox was about to go on trial. Gordon was the little brother of Pam and Steve Cox and Steve, Jake's best friend, had died in his arms on Iwo Jima. Jake had spent the evening contemplating the situation over a bottle of gin and distant memories of a time, before the war, when he was a hot-shot San Francisco trial lawyer.Impulsively, Jake called the Cox house. When Pam answered all he could say was, "If Bullet John needs a new attorney, I'm available."