Carrie Walsh is a 1960s girl with a job she hates and a tendency to think of herself as unimportant. When she witnesses a murder in Flint, Michigan, Carrie's life takes a new direction. Following the instructions the victim whispered as he lay dying, she goes to meet Jack Porter, a handsome, brooding Vietnam veteran mistreated by life and disabled by war. The two join forces to find out why his best friend and army buddy was stabbed in an alley. As she works with Jack over time, Carrie begins to feel less like the hopeless ugly duckling her mother believes her to be.

Suspense builds as Jack and Carrie investigate the cases of other men who survived Vietnam only to die soon after they came back to "the world." Just when they start to trust each other, Carrie discovers Jack brought secrets home from the war, secrets that create disappointment, uncertainty, and the very real possibility she's the target for the next murder.