: Drafted into the peacetime Army after being expelled from college, Miles is lost until he runs into Susan, a fiery vixen several years his senior. The young soldier is knocked for a loop by this feminine force of nature who is unafraid to violate the strait-laced sexual etiquette of the 1950s. Consumed, he pursues Susan blindly. But haunted by a dark past, she proves elusive. To win her attention and favor, Miles begins to accept risky assignments. As he grows in audacity, Miles butts heads with his sergeant whose authority is seriously undermined. In a rush of action, the sergeant sets into motion a plan that will eliminate the outspoken draftee. Into this fray steps someone from Susan's past who threatens to retake the ground Miles has struggled to gain. In a final act to claim what he believes is his, he risks everything for love. This is the romantic adventure spun by author and playwright John von Hartz in The Birds of Calm.