America - 1943 - the world is on the throes of a second great war. The fingers of fear and death reach everywhere. What unknown factors can catapult a young girl from a small town in the Midwest to Salt Lake City, the defense hub of the West? What influences draw Julia toward a fate and future totally alien to her, involving her in an exciting new way of life and entangling her in the mysterious threads of her mother's past? Against the backdrop of wartime America, across several states to the romantic and dangerous battle fronts of the Pacific, the author weaves a strong and alluring tale.