December 1941- Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor has just shoved the United States off the fence and into the roiling maelstrom of World War II. The heart of the nation - ravaged by the fiery atrocity at Pearl - has whiplashed from neutrality to full scale commitment to the defeat of the Axis Powers. Grappling with the staggering losses of December 7th, her people must confront both the stark reality of Japan's unprovoked assault and the knowledge that further losses await as husbands, sons, and sweethearts now head off to war. For Martha Carlton, the long-dreaded apocalypse descends as she and the people around her encounter personal days of reckoning that - painted onto the canvas of world war - will challenge their core beliefs and values as they deal with questions of love, integrity, bigotry and prejudice.