Jon Zachary is a student in the US Navy flight training program. He wants to fly jets off aircraft carriers. But needs of the service dictate whether a student will be a jet, helicopter, or propeller plane pilot. List Almighty is due out soon, which will determine if he gets his wish. The List is published. Zachery is assigned to Meridian Naval Air Station for jet pilot training. He is overjoyed and moves his wife and two small children to Mississippi. They arrive in Meridian as the Klan is staging a campaign against what they consider to be a resurgence of Civil Rights activity. At Catholic Mass, Jon and Teresa sit in a pew with a colored girl, who is “sitting in,” and by doing so, put themselves in Klan crosshairs. Getting through the flight training program is no longer the most important consideration in their lives.