Honduras occupies a strategic geographic position in Central America. Having served as ambassador to Honduras during both the Carter and Reagan administrations, Jack R. Binns offers a unique perspective on the pivotal period from 1980 through 1981, as the country moved from a relatively benign military dictatorship to a democratic constitutional leadership.

Using classified correspondence, Binns covers the attack on the U.S. Embassy, the deception laid upon the Embassy and State Department by the Central Intelligence Agency over Sandinista-Contra policy, the flood of Salvadoran refugees, economic and human rights conditions, and the collapse of a military coup. He discusses the consequences of an inadequate U.S. policy formulation in Central America: the effort to overthrow the Sandinista regime was a costly failure, U.S. support of the Salvadoran military enlarged the conflict, and U.S. activity in Honduras encouraged human rights abuses.