The Marines of Combined Action Platoon are trapped between a rock and a hard place. The can't run their patrols and keep Bun Hoi village safe from the Vietcong without their Popular Forces platoon, which had been taken away by the District Commander, Major Y, at the end of the previous book. So they decide to take matters into their own hands. First, the Marines go to the district headquarters and face down Major Y until he allows them to take their PFs, who are anxious to return home. The VC seem more determined than ever to wipe out Tango Niner, and launch attacks against the Marine compound, called Camp Apache. The Marines gather intelligence about a secret VC base in the mountains to their west, but can't convince anybody to run an operation to deal with it, or even send in a reconnaissance unit to check it out. In the end, this independent-minded unit takes the war to the enemy in the place the enemy feels most secure.