Carol and David Abernathy met while both attended the University of Virginia, David getting a law degree and Carol getting a master's degree in Statistics and Data Analysis. Both being born and raised in the south they return to the Atlanta, Georgia after graduation and they marry a year later. David takes a job with the law firm of Chadwick and Lawrence, a firm specializing in criminal defense law also having divisions in family law and financial and contract law. David works in criminal defense and through the years handles some high-profile cases. Carol gets a position with a large marketing firm, and her job focuses on collecting and analyzing consumer buying habits for both products and services.Carol and David plan a family but want to wait a few years to get pregnant so that they are solidly positioned in their firms and have good, sound finances. Both of their positions are demanding, and they work long hours and work at least one weekend day most every week. Nature does not always match planning, and after a long weekend when neither had to go to the office or even do any work at home, Carol finds out that she is pregnant. They are overjoyed when after several months they find out that Carol is carrying fraternal twins, a boy and a girl.The babies are delivered, and mother and children are healthy and happy. The twins, Sandra and Donald, develop an incredibly close bond and stay close throughout their lives. Often in the same classes through school, they are both athletic, and both have afterschool sports practices once they get into high school. The twins first real separation comes when they attend different colleges, and even then, they spend spring break together with groups of friends.Growing up, Donald is always designing and building things beginning the Lego blocks and continuing this hobby through the years culminating with the design and building of a tree house in his early teen years. It is no surprise that Donald gets a degree in engineering. Sandra, on the other hand, cannot find anything she's really passionate about and gets a general business degree hoping to find a career she will enjoy. While searching for a dream job, Sandra goes into a local Army recruitment office to explore opportunities and finds several possibilities. She's told that once she completes basic training that she will have her choice of areas to pursue and after looking at possible assignments and talking with the recruitment officer she enlists for a two-year commitment. Sandra excitedly informs her family of her choice but does not get the response she hoped for. Her family is not very happy at all with her choice, but since she signed the papers, they decide that they have to support her decision even if they are worried about the dangers involved.All the family's fears are realized when Sandra is killed in an accident on the base. Her family, especially her dad wants someone to take responsibility for Sandra's death.