No Greater Duty

Fans of A Few Good Men and Saving Private Ryan will be drawn to this powerful story of moral courage, integrity, and valor in uniform, revealed in war and in peacetime.

Alex Kramer, a prior-enlisted marine and a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, saved three gravely-wounded brothers during combat and was decorated for extraordinary valor. Now conflict confronts him after he takes unauthorized leave to prevent a suicide by a Marine whose life he had rescued under fire. Navy Lieutenant Tara Marcellus, an Academy graduate and submarine junior officer, has returned to Annapolis as a company officer. She meets the fearless midshipman who petitions Tara’s sense of moral courage when senior officers recommend punishing Alex with the harshest sanction: separation.

Alex’s case triggers heated arguments at the Naval Academy’s highest levels. He fiercely defends the code of honor he swore, and bled, to uphold; never leave a sailor or Marine behind. Tara deals with a major test of character: either take Alex’s side with risks to her role, or do nothing and regret her silence. Together, the two young service members will stand up for a greater duty--for integrity--because it is honorable, despite any consequences that lie ahead for them.

Robert Stewart is the author of five nonfiction books. Two military works presented the full four-year experience at the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Another presented emergency services management and leadership in the volunteer fire service. Two others covered athletics: the competitive sport of rowing, and the memoir of a former NCAA Division I athletic director. No Greater Duty is his debut novel.