Lien Phan Birchfield is the son of a Vietnamese mother and American soldier who is missing in action. Lien has never met his father, but is guided by a letter from him, written eighteen years earlier in the Vietnam jungle. He's always been a bit of an outsider, and as a new freshman at Bayou City College in Houston, Lien feels invisible.

He's not alone in his predicament, however. He has Toby, his happy-go-lucky roommate and ROTC cadet. There's Char-a type A go-getter with few friends. Prof. K is an ex-GI, Harley-riding journalism instructor and mentor. Together, these four unlikely friends form a bond that is unbreakable, willing to stand up to formidable adversaries.

As a team, they use their skills and intuition to go after a well-oiled ROTC machine that scams the trusting public of donations meant for charity. Surrounded by thoughts of his father, Lien and the other Invisibles track a corrupt and narcissistic army ROTC commandant and his band of "operatives." Working against deadly odds, the four friends don't feel so invisible anymore.