Book excerpt: Based on an actual event, this novel focuses on a battalion from the 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment (Colored) which is posted to Houston, Texas, in 1917. The troops are driven into a heated confrontation with the Houston Police Department and nineteen whites are killed. In the ensuing trial, the largest ever in the U.S., 63 black soldiers are charged with mutiny and murder. Assisting in their defense is the first female defender in a military court, adding sexism to the racial and constitutional issues already involved.