This is the story of Stan Turner's childhood and how he becomes an attorney. One year while he was growing up Southern California in the late fifties he goes to the county fair and they have an old Univac computer there programmed to tell fortunes. He has his fortune told and it forewarns him that his life will be difficult and fraught with danger. About this time he has a brush with the law, gets interested in the legal system, and decides to become an attorney. This sets the stage for the Stan Turner Mystery series as his fortune becomes a prophecy and at every turn Stan is confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet he pushes forward, undaunted by the unknown forces that seek to derail him.

In this first episode Stan is forced into the United States Marine Corps by a vicious twist of fate, must leave his wife, and family and report for duty. On his first day he unwittingly befriends a serial killer and soon finds himself charged with the murder of his drill sergeant. Aided by a lustful nurse who wants him and a journalist who wants his story, Stan desperately searches for the actual killer to prove his innocence