This is the narrative of Harold Russell, an American soldier who lost both of his hands in a training accident, as he and other amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC found fresh hope in prosthetics accessible to them through the Army's medical corps. Russell masters the use of the hooks that replace his hands, becoming capable of numerous tasks he previously believed were out of his reach. He is welcomed into Boston College by college president William J. Murphy, S.J., after being discharged from the military.