In this page-turning novel set during the Korean War, Matthew Clark, the biographer of a respected and highly decorated Army general, learns that there is a hidden side to his life, including a brutal, covered-up murder, a secret mistress, and an abandoned illegitimate daughter. As he delves deeper, Matthew discovers an intriguing mystery and a tragic love, in a world of surprises where nothing is at it seems. The book focuses on five characters: Philip Coursen, who appears at first to be the perfect Army officer, but who is revealed to have an increasingly mysterious dark side, Miriam Coursen, equally perfect Army wife, who may not be all she seems, Calvin Carter, an idealistic young West Pointer, beset with guilt as a result of his clandestine affair with another officer's wife, Samantha Winstead, the beautiful, vivacious cause of Calvin Carter's discomfort, and Matthew Clark, who becomes more drawn into his research after falling in love with the young woman who claims to be Coursen's secret daughter.