In the tranquil South of the 1950s, identical triplets are a medical rarity. Though alike in appearance, Matthew, Mark, and Luke Reilly are as different as three brothers can be. Viewed by everyone as an indivisible trio, rather than individuals, their normal sibling rivalry escalates into fierce competition. Amid the violence of the Vietnam War, each discovers his unique calling.

After Matthew is killed in an ambush, the surviving brothers return to a country unrecognizable from the one they left. Mark and Luke become estranged, while pursuing career paths as divisive as the war itself. One wields power as a “star maker” in the big leagues of national politics, while the other earns the stars of a Marine Corps general. Years later, for personal reasons, and different objectives, both find themselves serving a troubled president, embroiled in a fight for his political life.

For a group of powerful conspirators, sex scandals are the least of their worries. If more serious transgressions are disclosed, lives, both inside and outside the White House gates, will be ruined. Arranging the assassination of the century seems the cleanest solution. Aided by a modern day Judas in the president’s inner circle, a mysterious assassin known only as Cain is contracted to carry out the assignment.

In the shocking conclusion, choices made by young men at war will collide with their present beliefs. Three decades removed from the war that shaped their generation, the faithful and the faithless will confront a life and death contest. Like a deadly version of Musical Chairs, some will live . . . some will die . . . and …... one will permanently find himself the Odd Man Out.

Robert J. Sutter