The Scorpion's Song is set in the days leading up to the Gulf War, when thousands of American soldiers were deployed to Saudi Arabia. An ambivalent young Sergeant with a traumatic past struggles to deal with the leadership challenges of the environment and his own ethical ambivalence as he tries to live up to what is expected of him. Help comes in the form of a scorpion, who visits him in his dreams and tries to teach him how to think for himself, and leads him towards becoming a more unified, authentic self.