In the blink of an eye, two lives are changed . . .Army Lieutenant Kit Vail has finally escaped the loving protection of her older brother, although it has taken a tour in Iraq to accomplish it. Meanwhile, at an Air Force Base several hours away, lone-wolf fighter pilot Captain Hawk Hawkins is yanked out of his perfect lifestyle by a call from his long-time friend, Kit's older brother. Captain Mark Vail calls in a marker and demands that Hawk drop everything and make a trip to Camp Taji to check on his baby sister-a woman he has never met. Despite their initial animosity, there is an underlying attraction, but sparks fly when neither is prepared to give up his or her independence. Then fate intervenes in the form of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device).