Carmela DeMitri's struggle to survive brings 1917 and the Italian Front of the Great War to life. When she leaves her strict parents in New York and sails to Italy, planning to join Ben Carlotti, everything goes wrong. Her boyfriend doesn't show up. The Austrians break through Italy's defenses. She discovers that the Alpini pressed Ben into service at a dangerous time when thousands of deserters are on the run. A lone woman among many desperate men during a brutal war in the Alps, Carmela vows to follow her heart and rescue her true love.