Chap O'Keefe

Washington desk soldiers view a reign of terror by a band of renegade Apaches as a mockery of the Army. They give orders for elimination of the delinquent bucks and send strutting Lieutenant-General George Hamilton Morgan to make sure they're carried out. But Misfit Lil considers the general's mission a slur on Colonel Brook Lexborough and her friends at Fort Dennis. Unconstrained by career consequences, Lil speaks her mind at a fort ball, razzing Morgan mercilessly.
His aide, the hard-eyed, hard-handed Major Ezra Creede, deals to Lil as a presumptuous brat, affording ball guests the entertainment of a rigorous spanking. As if Lil's humiliation is insufficient, it's quickly overtaken by a bigger sensation. A gruesome murder is committed and the distinctive sheath for the weapon, an antique Medici dagger, is found in Lil's saddlebag. Incriminated, Lil heads for the hills - and into greater dangers!