The day after they get the word they'll go home in two weeks, a group of soldiers from Spokane are ambushed in an Iraqi city. Back stateside we follow four of them - a surgeon who saw too much, a teacher who's a single mom and who lost a hand in the ambush, an infantry man whose best friend died that day, and a soldier who keeps reliving the moment he killed a civilian woman.

Ray Livingston is a relationship-blogging hack (“freelance writer, actually”) responsible for Brooklyn’s infamous blog, “Occasionally Dating Black Women.” The well-written, if not controversial, blog has generated some notoriety, but Ray is chafing from an overextended stay in New York, romantic ennui, and a stagnating writing career. After a particularly crappy week, he goes off on a tirade and harasses a gorgeous random passerby, only to discover that it’s Rochelle Marseille, one of New York’s up-and-coming authors. Moving to make amends in an effort to preserve his media clout, Ray is stunned when Rochelle gives him more than he ever thought she would.