"A nine line is the standard radio format to evacuate casualties from the battlefield. It is a call for help. When Nick Patterson signed up for the Navy reserves, he just wanted some money for medical school. He never imagined he'd someday find himself fighting for life and limb in the sands of Iraq. Frustrated by a military bureaucracy he cannot begin to understand and an increasingly pointless war, he doubts why he is there and what he is doing. When the plucky and idealistic Medivac pilot, Samantha Brown, crashes into his life, he sees another side to the war. As their friendship grows into something more serious, Nick is faced with a multitude of choices: should he stay in the military or go home to the relaxed atmosphere of private practice? Should he play it safe, or step off into the unknown with the daredevil pilot? "--Back cover