The author, a missile launch control officer in the waning years of the Cold War, returns to his old Air Force unit in North Dakota. His goal is to learn firsthand how today's missileers are faring in the gray environment of the post-Cold War era. Have they managed to maintain a sense of mission, and if so, upon what is it founded? Do they harbor any bitterness toward military or political leaders, feeling like forgotten pawns on an anachronistic chess board?