 Air Force test pilot Pike Yarnell reluctantly attends the memorial service for long-dead Donald Beasley, his navigator during the Korean War; recalling, in flashbacks, their painful days together on a life raft. In Beasley s home town, Pike is repelled at Donald s wealthy mother s enshrinement of her dead son; bemused at his frankly amorous pursuit by Donald s younger sister Pat; and increasingly charmed by his attractive widow Christina. What will the final flashback reveal?