[4] Citadel alumni were critical of the novel, considering it a thinly-veiled and unflattering account of the school, and Conroy was ostracized by his alma mater and effectively banned from campus for over 20 years after its publication.

Will is a sarcastic young man who seldom agrees with the rigidity of CMI, but is generally well-liked and his professors and peers recognize him for his integrity and fairness.

Will struggles to fit into the strict military environment, but finds solace in his three roommates, who have become his closest friends: Tradd St. Croix, the son of an upper-class Charlestonian family, and two brawny Italian-American boys from the North: Dante "Pig" Pignetti and Mark Santoro.

Will also begins a secret relationship with Annie Kate Gervais, a girl from an upper-class Charlestonian family who has become pregnant from a boy who refused to marry her.

Shamed by his inability to cope with the harshness of the Institute's freshman system, Poteete hangs himself, leaving behind his ominous claim of a "house where they take freshmen" to be tormented outside the oversight of the Commandant's office.

One recruit swiftly rises to prominence: Bobby Bentley, who has a problem with urinating on himself due to the stress of hazing but is otherwise in excellent shape.

Conventional hazing methods fail to break Bentley, and his classmates gradually rally around him, making Will's cadre the subject of ridicule of the entire corps of cadets.

Aided in his investigation by a mentor, a professor in the history department, Will discovers that the Ten is a real group and they are trying to run Pearce out to keep the Institute all white.

Will and the other seniors receive their class rings in a solemn ceremony, and Will wins the final basketball game of his career in quadruple overtime against the Virginia Military Institute.

Bentley reveals that, during their plebe year, he was spirited away to a house, and was threatened, tortured, and finally agreed to quit when The Ten prepared to burn him alive.

Durrell refuses, citing their extensive list of infractions and the fact that the Institute graduate they kidnapped has contacted him and wants to press charges.

The Bear then enters the General's office, informing him that multiple cadets who were run out of the Institute are willing to attest in court to the Ten's existence and activities.

General Durrell relents when also faced with the threat of exposure to the press, as evidenced by Mark seen outside with letters containing the information ready to be mailed.

Shortly before graduation, Will receives a letter from Annie Kate, thanking him for standing by her and saying he will make a good husband to whatever woman he finds.

[6] The novel was adapted for the screenplay of a 1983 film of the same name, starring David Keith as Will McLean and Robert Prosky as Colonel "The Bear" Berrineau.