"A deeply emotional tale set during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War. Authentic and evocative, this love story between a veteran and a one-time war protester makes us appreciate the healing power of love." Eve Gaddy, National Best Selling Author
Love sometimes finds you when you least expect it - when you aren't even looking for it. Which is how it happened for Sandy Marshall and Nathan Cameron. Sandy is in her senior year of college, and looking forward to her semester of student teaching when she meets Nathan "Cam" Cameron and steps in to thwart fellow student who is heckling him. Something about Cam reminds her of her brother who has been MIA for almost a year, and she can't help the urge to intervene. She's been rescuing and healing injured creatures all her life, and the pain in Cam's eyes at the undeserved taunts prompts her to come to his defense. She never believed in love-at-first-sight before, but deep down, she's convinced this troubled soldier is the man she is meant to love and be with forever.
Cam has recently returned home from an unpopular war to an unwelcoming populace. His time in Vietnam has changed him in ways he doesn't understand. He felt he was doing his patriotic duty when he joined the Marine Corps, but he came home a changed man with a lot of guilt and anger. He's not sure how to take the pretty young woman who leaps to his defense at registration for fall classes, or how to handle her eagerness to get to know him better. Getting romantically involved with anyone is the last thing he has on his mind, but he at least owes her the date she asks for.
The whirlwind romance that follows and Sandy's desire to join the sexual revolution challenges everything for Cam, and in spite of his determination to keep their relationship platonic, the hope and sunshine Sandy brings to his troubled heart is as unexpected as it is irresistible. When they become intimate, his upbringing and faith prompt him to propose, and at first Sandy holds out, afraid he has asked her to marry him for the wrong reasons. Cam has to work hard to convince her he's not afraid of marriage or intimacy before she changes her mind and says yes.
In spite of the steadfast love and support Sandy brings to their marriage, Cam still struggles with his demons. Will her love be enough to bring him back from the edge of despair and convince him to get the help he so desperately needs? Is his love for her strong enough for him to pull himself together and be the man she believes in?
Cam isn't the only soldier to return home so changed he doesn't recognize himself in the mirror. Thankfully, our nation has learned to help our military to assimilate back into the mainstream of civilian live, and to provide help for those in need who are suffering with PTSD. The fact that many Americans wouldn't or couldn't support the men and women returning from the conflict in Southeast Asia made reentry into civilian culture nearly impossible for some, and many Vietnam veterans today are still haunted by the treatment they received on their return after their year at war, fighting for ideals they believed America stood for. In this story, Sandy struggles with how to support and heal the man she loves while he struggles with his need to seek and accept help from those able to provide it to him.
