It was December, 2011 when the body of Cadet Nicholas Argento was found lying face down in the snow at the foot of his dormitory. Was his death the result of an accident, suicide, or murder? With the backdrop of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, investigators Captain Samantha Rodamsky, representing the Academy's Office of Special Investigation, and Detectives Zach Fields and Mindy Reynolds from the El Paso Sheriff's office, are led through a series of twists and turns before they are able to uncover the cause of Cadet Argento's death. To complicate matters even further, there are political implications, since the victim was the son of Mario Argento, a prominent U.S. Senator from California. A turning point in the investigation occurs when Detective Fields is secretly given a diary written forty-five years earlier by Cadet Anthony Alexander. This diary details four years in the life of Cadet Alexander. It not only deals with the rigorous physical and mental challenges, but also his struggle to follow the Honor Code which stated, "We shall not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate among us those who do."