"In the tradition of Pat Conroy's best-selling Lords of Discipline, this is a powerful story of a shocking crime and dramatic court martial, from the author of Toy Soldiers." "An isolated military training camp situated in the wild rough terrain of the Carolina mountains is the setting for William P. Kennedy's breakthrough novel about honor, betrayal, and a wrenching court martial. The young men who undergo the brutal regime at Fort Francis Marion are the ultimate in physical perfection, as shrewd as they are tough, and each one has a goal: to earn the Green Beret. The purpose of their grueling, sadistic training is to teach them the murderous tactics of counterinsurgency warfare - the art of torture." "Suddenly, the fine-tuned precision of Fort Marion is shattered by a series of brutal premeditated attacks. The killer, clearly a trained Green Beret, is using the hideously cruel techniques he has been taught on the very officers who instruct the cadets. A young legal officer with no combat experience is assigned to the case. Then the lives of all those on the base are endangered by a horrifying act of sabotage, masterminded by the rogue cadet, that is eerily reminiscent of covert operations carried out by the Berets themselves. The pressure is on from high-level officers to arrest a suspect and bring him to justice with a minimum of publicity. The investigation and ensuing trial become a haunting journey into one man's past, and they tear the veil of secrecy from a very dark side of the military. As the story builds to a moving climax, the men of this elite corps are forced to confront a frightening moral dilemma in an unforgettable and heroic conclusion."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved