And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another and there was given to him a great sword.

The Vietnam War is finally over, but for Lieutenant Jake Grafton, freshly returned from two harrowing combat cruises, his own country seems almost as hostile. When his fists get him in trouble, he lands himself in a new hell and excruciating eight-month cruise on the aircraft carrier Columbia teaching Marines the nuances of carrier aviation.