On April 22, 2004, David Uthlaut and his convoy of Army Rangers receive dangerous orders during their mission to root out Taliban insurgents in the rough country of Khost Province. Their Humvee breaks down, and they must split the platoon up into Serial One and Serial Two, with one section towing the Humvee to a nearby town and the other following the original mission to search the next village. Uthlaut strongly requests headquarters reconsider these orders, but his requests are denied.

Led by Uthlaut, Serial One passes through a narrow canyon. Just as they get through, they see American tracer rounds returning enemy fire from an ambush in the canyon. Serial Two has inexplicably left their course and followed the rest of the platoon. Pat Tillman, the subject of the book, is in Serial One. Following 9/11, Tillman walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL deal and enlisted in the Army infantry alongside his brother, who is in Serial Two. Tillman, with the bulk of Serial One, speeds back toward the firefight and is subsequently shot and killed by friendly fire.

Accidental deaths by fellow soldiers are often covered up in war, and Tillman’s death is no different, except that he is championed as a poster boy for Bush’s War on Terror, a role he detested and rejected.