During a baseball game in a French forest, Don narrowly escapes a sniper's bullet. In Verviers, and Liège Belgium, he has daily encounters with buzz bombs but suffers only minor cuts dodging shrapnel. Using forged passes to visit a girlfriend; he freely roams restricted areas when similarly-daring soldiers are court-martialed.

But Sergeant Quix's jauntiness is tempered by tragic loss. His reunion with Ken in Verviers is violently cut short. Another close friend, Technical Sergeant Stanley Firestone, dies in a V-1 attack while pulling a shift for a newly engaged radio man.

Meanwhile, Don begins a torrid love affair with Denise Vervier, a beautiful Belgian seamstress far wiser than her 23 years. Denise's husband was sent to a forced labor camp four years ago and is presumed dead. When he unexpectedly returns, Don and Denise face the most difficult decision of their lives.