During World War 1, more than two million American fighting men went to France. Fewer than thirty thousand were U.S. Marines. Going West, a novel, is the story of Robert Bailey, a young man from Seattle who joins the Marine Corps when America entered the war in 1917. The story follows Robert as he evolves from an inexperienced rifleman into a disillusioned squad leader, responsible for the well being of a dozen other marines. He deals with a constant inner conflict as a squad leader, always aware that the decisions he makes can mean life and death for his men. The enemy isn't the German army, but the war itself. Never the less, he does his duty because of the bonds that have developed between him and his fellow marines. Politics, presidents, and generals don't matter. Robert and his companions come to realize that they can only rely on each other.