A USA Today and Publishers Weekly Bestseller A Library Journal Editor''s Pick An Edgar® Award Finalist for Best First Novel College student Joe Talbert has an assignment to interview a stranger and write a brief biography. With deadlines looming, he heads to a nearby nursing home. Carl Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran - and a convicted murderer. Writing about him, Joe can''t reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict, and tries to uncover the truth.