Calder Willingham

The saga of the loves and lusts of the fierce Norse raiders who pillaged Britain over a thousand years ago.

During WWI, a French battalion is ordered on a suicide mission that is likely to fail. When it does, the general that planned the mission selects three soldiers from the battalion to be executed for cowardice, and selects their leader as their attorney.

A recent college graduate from an affluent family comes of age and finds himself by being led into an affair with the wife and the daughter of his father's business partner.

The French General Staff, safely behind the lines, sends orders for what amounts to a suicide mission. To cover up their fatal blunder, three soldiers are arrested and made scapegoats. Captures the spirit of Humphrey Cobb's novel in presenting a harsh attack on the futility of war in general and World War I in particular. A blistering indictment of military politics.