This introductory chapter outlines the book’s overall plan and familiarizes the reader with the key themes in the context of the US-Baltic security alliance. It spotlights the numerous critiques that detractors have leveled against this alliance. Moreover, the chapter briefly discusses a defining feature of this relationship, namely its asymmetry and the consequences that flow from this fact. Bluntly stated, the Baltics need America more than the other way around. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are the junior partners in this relationship, with more at stake, while Washington can conceivably go it alone. Setting the stage for the key theoretical discussions in this book, the chapter also notes the trade-offs of this relationship, its inherent risks, and potential benefits for each side. Lastly, the discussion outlines the scholarly contribution that this manuscript intends to make and identifies the sources and methods that will be mobilized to provide an original study of the US-Baltic security alliance.