Surviving multiple yellow fever epidemics in Memphis, a young man abruptly leaves home and heads into the western frontier. His journey leads him to an Army enlistment where he goes on to become a war hero of the Spanish-American war. Stricken with malaria in Cuba causes him to suffer multiple fever-induced delusions. When it is discovered that he may have murdered a man in Memphis, the Army needs to know if he's a war hero or has his murderous past caught up with him? To learn the truth, an Army doctor is sent to Memphis to find out. The investigation delves into the man's life in Memphis during the late 1870s and early 1880s. Exploring every lead, the doctor learns the untold horrors of multiple yellow fever epidemics in the city and the opportunistic people who preyed on the innocent. However, he also discovers the many people who showed compassion and played a part in influencing the man's early life.