Sergeant Morse has spent thirty-nine years in the armed forces, many of which were spent in between relationships with other closeted men-in-uniform, many more of which spent hiding those relationships from curious bureaucrats. Recently, he’s moved in with an older sergeant named Dixon, forming something of a real relationship for the first time in his life. One night, he receives a call from a distressed woman inquiring about a young officer named Billy Hart—a rough but intelligent southern boy who the woman is upset to learn has just shipped off to Iraq. The woman, Hart’s sister, calls back again, this time agreeing to meet Morse outside the base at a small roadside diner. Once there, Hart introduces Morse to her sister, Julianne, and her son, Charlie. Charlie is a plump eight-year-old boy who turned to rebellion since his father left.  Julianne explains that after Hart left and Charlie’s mother left for her second stint in rehab, she and Hart’s mother-in-law have been raising Charlie, but after a very expected blowup between the two, Julianne’s been left to fend with Charlie, sleeping in cars and worrying for her brother.  Morse, economically liberated after his mother’s death and his father’s refusal to accept his sexuality, tries in vain to help the Julianne, who is too prideful to accept the money. Morse considers inviting Julianne to him and Dixon’s home instead, imagining she might be too prideful to accept cash but not to accept hospitality. In the end he doesn’t offer, letting Julianne spend a night in the cold, but promising himself to figure out a way to help soon.