One Step Ahead of the Devil: A Powerful Love Story

“Dr. McCloud,” the colonel said, “if you don’t cooperate, I can see you falling on your sword within two weeks!”

Major David McCloud had to make a difficult decision. A military lawyer had advised him the orders were illegal. If he followed orders, he could face court-martial and prison. If he did not follow orders, he faced certain retaliation. Either choice had a bad outcome. What should he do?

David and his wife, Lissa, discussed the problem and prayed about it for weeks. The decision would affect them both. Together, they chose integrity. Their stand took them into a nightmare of suffering. The repercussions of their decision sent a tremor all the way to the president of the United States, shook Congress, and rattled the Pentagon. The national press called the ensuing events a scandal. But one reporter looked deeper. He saw Lissa’s devotion to David and said, “This is a love story.”
It is also a story about honor and faith caught in the crucible of conflict. Can a life of integrity change society? Is it worth the sacrifice to stand against corruption? If God doesn’t rescue us from disaster, is our faith empty? What if God asks us to die to our dreams—or even lay down our lives—to accomplish his purpose? How do we survive life’s most desperate hours, when all seems lost?

These are the questions David and Lissa faced as their faith in God was tested by fiery trial.

This is a true story. To protect the innocent and to do no harm to the guilty, all names, locations, and descriptions have been changed. Because of the large number of people involved, some characters have been combined in order to avoid confusion. Some of the facilities mentioned do not exist in those locations. None of the military facilities mentioned in this account were the actual ones involved . . . except for the Pentagon.