Tom MacLaine is surprised when a senior Viet Cong sergeant befriends and helps him get medical care for his wounded arm. Two POWs who are locked in his bamboo cage with him further surprise MacLaine. One is a mad man, and the other has been so maltreated he is near death. MacLaine tries in vain to help both. A geriatric judge jails MacLaine's lawyer sister, Elizabeth, for contempt of court. She is the only female in the jail and sexually harassed by male inmates. Her uncle Harley, a fierce biker and brawler, comes to her rescue but cannot secure her release. Elizabeth conceives a clever plan to gain her freedom with the help of her best friend, the judge's daughter. Despite being on opposite sides of the world, the lives of Tom and Elizabeth continue to be emotionally entwined in hope, spirit and determination to gain his freedom, too.

Don Price is a retired Marine colonel who served 3 tours in Vietnam earning a Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars w/V, a Purple Heart, 8 Air Medals, 3 Navy Commendation Medals w/V, and 3 Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. He taught English at the Naval Academy, graduated from the National War College, and commanded an infantry battalion on Okinawa. He is the author of The First Marine Captured in Vietnam, a biography of Medal of Honor recipient Donald Gilbert Cook published in 2007 by McFarland. Don lives in the heart of the Wild West, Cochise County, Arizona. His favorite quote comes from LtGen Ulysses S. Grant's dispatch (dated May 11, 1864) to Washington during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: "I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer."