It is a work of fiction which depicts a platoon of Marines serving in the Vietnam War.

The novel is told mainly from the viewpoints of three Marines: 2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee Hodges, who comes from a long line of soldiers; "Snake" (no full name given), a squad leader in Hodges' platoon, a tough kid from the streets; and "Senator" (Will Goodrich), an impressionable and sensitive Harvard student who volunteers for service.

The major themes are centered on loyalty, leadership, and the brutalizing effects on people in a time of war.

Written only three years after the last American troops withdrew from Vietnam,[1] and despite being written by a man who loved the military and hated the antiwar movement, Fields of Fire points out the flawed logic of the Vietnam War through its hero, Lieutenant Hodges.

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