What kind of drama could happen in a small-town Iowa bus station? If you’re a guy like Mallory, it’s the kind that involves sidestepping trouble between a pretty, frightened blonde and a pretty frightening, two-fisted, one-eyed goon. With the help of a handy Pepsi bottle, Mallory saves the lady from the menacing lout, shares a heartfelt moment, and sees her safely off, wistfully wondering if they’ll ever meet again. End of story? Not a chance.

Even though it’s Mallory’s best buddy, John, who’s visiting on leave from combat in Vietnam, it’s Mallory who has a nasty flashback—when that same sweet blonde drops back into his life after losing hers. But how did she go from a bus out of town to a car at the bottom of a cliff? Why is her “accident” a dead ringer for the one that killed a scandal-scarred senator? And is local lawman Sheriff Brennan helping to hush things up?

The questions are good ones, and Mallory wants answers—bad. But if he crosses the wrong people, things could get ugly.