In late October of 1962 is certainly not dull; not with Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev threatening to launch Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba if the U.S. attempts to stage an invasion there. The Kennedy White House has been facing down the Soviets with an ultimatum that they dismantle their missile bases at once, but newcasts everythere are reporting that the Russian warships are staying steadily on their course to Cuba.

When we last saw Sam McCain he had been drafted to fight the war in Vietnam. But Sam's military career ended in boot camp when he was accidentally shot in the head and forced to spend three months in a military hospital to recover. Sam returns to his hometown of Black River Falls, where he works as a lawyer (and part-time investigator) for the court of the snobbish but amusing Judge Esme Ann Whitney. Two of Sam's oldest friends are caught up in...