Chapters 1 through 5 Summary

The story opens with Bob Lee Swagger sitting uncomfortably in the sleet at exactly the point where he will encounter a trophy buck called "Tim" by the locals. He waits for hours, refuses to allow his teeth to chatter, and makes the perfect shot when the monster buck appears. The buck falls and Bob watches the downed animal, noting the fear and betrayal in its eyes, then cuts the antlers off and stands back.

Meanwhile, a group, including psychologists, are discussing who will make an acceptable recruit for a mission. Bob, who had been a sniper during Vietnam with more than eighty kills to his credit, comes up as a possibility, but it's pointed out that he now refuses to kill anything. He hunts using a special homemade bullet that simply paralyzes and stuns for five or six minutes. He removes...