A respected black cavalry sergeant stands court-martial after being accused of raping and killing a white woman as well as murdering her father, his superior officer.

Lieutenant Tom Cantrell is sent to defend Sergeant Braxton Rutledge, a Black cavalry soldier, on a charge of rape and murder. The story begins in a courtroom and it is told through flashbacks. This is a story of how a Black soldier in the face of danger from the Indians can be so easily mistaken for a criminal.—Christopher D. Ryan <[email protected]>

Lt. Tom Cantrell defends his First Sergeant, Braxton Rutledge, at a court-martial where the African-American NCO is accused of raping and strangling Lucy Dabney and killing her father, Major Dabney. The story is told through the testimony of those giving evidence. The events of those days not only included the assault on Lucy and the murder of her father but was also at the time of an Apache uprising. Rutledge doesn't deny finding the dead girl or killing her father in self defense, the Major being in a blind rage and out for blood convinced that the Fort's senior NCO assaulted and killed his daughter. As the events of those days are revealed however, it becomes clear to everyone that there are two sides to the story and it is left to Cantrell to convince the court that Braxton is innocent.—'

Circumstantial evidence suggests a First Sergeant in a Black cavalry regiment has raped and murdered a white girl, then killed his commanding officer. When he makes the case look even worse by deserting, an old lieutenant friend is sent to get him back--and also finds himself quelling an Apache uprising. The lieutenant then volunteers to defend the sergeant in court, where the full story starts slowly to emerge.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}