The troopers tell of narrow misses and confrontations with drunks, strung-out youth, and strange encounters with "crazies" and of escapades both on and off duty with the opposite sex. They also go into some detail on their duties and experiences of aiding the injured and dying in highway accidents. Female troopers tell of the special challenges they face on the job, and wives and widows speak of their private agony. Troopers talk with surprising candor about burnout, petty politics, and crime within the ranks. Events surrounding the 1985 killing of three North Carolina troopers and the intensive manhunt that followed are detailed. It is pointed out that, since the North Carolina Highway Patrol was established in 1929, 44 troopers have lost their lives while on duty (23 killed in traffic accidents, 17 by gunfire, and 4 in plane crashes). According to FBI studies, more law enforcement officers are killed and assaulted annually in the South than in all other regions of the country combined. FBI officials theorize that Southern law enforcement officers may be more susceptible to violent assaults because of several contributing factors: many police officers in the South tend to work in isolated regions, with a scarcity of backup support; there is easy accessibility to handguns and a general intolerance for gun control in the South; and policemen, particularly troopers, convey a "Southern gentlemen" image. 36 illustrations.