John Mead grew up in the 1960s as an only child in a rural Washington community. In his youth, he loved football and hunting and fishing. Though his love for the outdoors never wanes, his life takes a new direction, first with the love of a young woman, and then in a fateful entanglement in one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century. From the jungles of Vietnam to the tundra of Alaska, John's life is filled with challenges and rewards, including a spiritual awakening, as well as painful illustrations that the ultimate cost of war can far exceed the price paid on the battlefield.