Philip Zumwalt is an accomplished musician, poet, and idealist who upon graduation from college in 1940 takes a job as a music teacher in a small, rural Illinois town. He plans to teach for a few years to save enough money to finance his dreams: to go to Chicago to become a professional musician and to get his pilot's license. These dreams dominate his thoughts until his forbidden romance with Elinor Robinson--and the specter of war hanging over the country--put them on hold. When he enlists in the Army Air Force, he overcomes his fears and spiritual doubts in a desperate effort to survive aerial combat in the Southwest Pacific Theater. In the end, a single dream remains for Philip: to return home to the woman he loves. Based upon the World War II diaries of the real Philip Zumwalt, this debut novel is a bittersweet tale of the transcendent power of love and reminds us of the immense sacrifices made by the men and women of that era. -- Adapted from back cover.