The Oath

"I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…" A lifetime ago, a young naval aviator took the Oath. Tom McGuire, now a San Francisco PD homicide inspector, hadn't thought about that Oath in years. That was all about to change. A famous San Francisco newspaper columnist has been murdered. Some would say "executed". Shot through the head, her arms tried behind her, knotted together from shoulder to wrist. McGuire feels an eerie chill of recognition. After being shot down over North Vietnam, he suffered through seven years as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, enduring rope torture many times- his arms tied in exactly the same way. A lifetime ago, another young naval aviator also took that Oath. He also was shot down over North Vietnam, and joined McGuire as a POW in Hanoi. His interpretation of the Oath differs from McGuire's. After thirty years, their lives were about to intersect once again.