In this family story that includes more than 70 letters from Vietnam, the raw honesty of one homesick teenage boy speaks for every lonely soldier at war. Huey crew chief Larry Smith grows into a hardened man in his 1st Cavalry helicopter while his little sister Tracy starts kindergarten back in New Jersey and learns about war from the family television. As Larry turns 19 in December 1967, battles intensify and his letters darken, casting doubt on his promise to return home.

Decades after the war, as he lay in a coma, Tracy reads her brother’s letters in full and vows to uncover the whole truth of his war. Tracy researches Larry’s military service in excruciating detail through endless record requests and searches for soldiers. She tracks down and interviews some of Larry’s crew members, bringing her brother’s stories to life. She finds his best friend, who had searched for Larry for 48 years. She finds the Air Force pilot who rescued him, but never met him. Tracy also finds Miss America