Gen. Hoagland, a strictly by-the-book desk jockey, visits the 918th to evaluate Gen. Savage's performance, but he arrives with a headstrong bias because Savage has a reputation for improvised tactics to deal with the randomness of war, as well as an apparent obsession with an especially dangerous target deep within Germany. Sparks fly from the moment Hoagland lands hellbent on getting Savage fired. In an effort to show Hoagland the vagaries of combat, Savage invites him to tag along on a mission. And then the unthinkable; Hoagland is killed in a manner that casts suspicion on Savage. If the looming inquiry is not enough of a distraction, Savage also has to deal with a mentally unstable pilot who has lost confidence in himself and his commander, and may provide information that could cast a very dark shadow on the investigation.