The novel centers on Lieutenant Colonel David Sutton, a handsome and accomplished peacetime U.S. Army officer apprehended by Army Intelligence in Paris. His arrest abruptly interrupts his plans to elope with a General’s daughter. Sutton is subjected to an intense internal investigation following an anonymous accusation that he is homosexual.

Because it is a bureaucratic investigation rather than an official court-martial, no formal charges are filed against him. As a result, Sutton is trapped in a legal limbo where he is denied the right to face his accusers or review the evidence used against him. The military establishment views him with suspicion, citing his "too handsome" appearance and his hobby of painting as behavior unbefitting a soldier.