The author conducted the official investigation of the My Lai incident of 1968 and its subsequent coverup. Most of the book comes directly from the inquiry's records. One is impressed by Peers's sober and responsible weaving through contradictory testimony in search of what turns out to be the damning truth. Peers believes that those responsible were not properly punished, but he blames President Nixon's apparent sympathy for Lt. Galley and others as much as the system of military justice.