A sweeping, panaromic story spanning a half century, from the Vietnam War to the modern day, The hearts of men begins at ag thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan, who, in scrambling to protect Nelson against the merciless bullying of the other boys, finds he has much to learn about the extent of his own courage and empathy. Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from Vietnam, becomes scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father's business into a highly profitable company. When something unthinkable happens at a camp get-together with Nelson as scoutmaster and Jonathan's daughter-in-law and teenage grandson as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths- and the limites - of Nelsons's selflessness and bravery.