Tommy Hart, whose B-52 was shot down over Germany, is burdened with guilt that he is the only surviving member of his crew. He is just another PoW at Stalag Luft 13 waiting for the war to end. But the tedium of the camp comes to a halt with the arrival of a new prisoner, Lincoln Scott, a black flight lieutenant who instantly becomes the target of contempt from his fellow prisoners. His most vociferous adversary is Vincent Bedford, a decorated bomber captain, and the hatred between them is as volatile as a primed grenade.When Bedford is brutally murdered, all the evidence points to the killer being Scott, and Hart is 'volunteered' to defend him. While Scott steadfastly maintains his innocence, it becomes increasingly clear that Hart has been chosen merely to make a show of defending the accused in what is presumed to be an open-and-shut case.In a trial rife with racial tension and raw conflict, where the lines between ally and enemy blur, there are those with their own secret motives - and a burning passion for a rush to judgement, no matter the cost.
