"Marianne is a robust and healthy little German girl until the ravages of World War II take their toll. She barely survives the terrifying air raids, the horrible medical treatments on an isolation ward, and the divorce of her parents. When her mother marries a former enemy and emigrates to America, Marianne is expected to follow. Her ocean voyage from Italy to New York, serves to close her former life and open a future as an American teenager. In a twist of fate, Marianne meets her future husband, a Los Angeles-born Chinese U.S. Airman, in Bermuda, causing a great uproar in her family. Eventually, Marianne and Leighton get married and raise four children while remaining active in a variety of community events and earning college degrees. Despite her childhood aversion to writing, Marianne had always been  an avid reader. As an adult she accidentally discovers the power of her own written word. Subsequently, she becomes a tireless letter-writer and engages in fascinating exchanges of letters with a variety of correspondents, including a cardiologist, a physicist, as well as manufacturers and governmental agencies."