In Ithaca, New York, in 1982, Larry Markham awakes to discover his wife, Vicki, has taken their young son, Scott, and left him—not for the first time, possibly for the last. It is a deep blow to a life already in fragments: a dead-end job delivering Wonder Bread; a strained relationship with his aging father, a veteran of World War Two; and weekly visits to the VA hospital where Larry, a former Army medic, leads a support group for disabled Vietnam vets. As he struggles to win Vicki back, Larry finds he is in danger of a far more imminent sort: A disturbed member of the support group—a trained CIA assassin—has disappeared, and is stalking Larry and his family. His methods send an unmistakable message: The game will end in death. At the same time, "The Names of the Dead" is a harrowing and heartfelt portrait of the Vietnam War and the men who fought it. The year is 1968, the place A Shau valley, and Larry Markham—nineteen and green—must find a way to keep his platoon alive. Here we see the stories Larry cannot bring himself to tell—of friends who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war their country scorned. "The Names of the Dead" is the story of a man trying to find his way back to himself—a story about storytelling and memories that refuse to fade. It is the story of a man rediscovering the courage to love one woman, and, through her, the world, his country, his family, and finally himself.