The telegram says that her father's Thunderbolt aircraft was shot down by the Germans over Holland -- and that Lieutenant George Fowler is presumed dead. But for Molly, that's impossible. She knows she would feel it in her heart if her father were truly dead. After all, he had been shot down once before and survived. She feels certain that he has found a way to survive again. And she secretly clings to that belief as she stands alongside her mother and brother at the memorial service. As her small town of Keenan, Maine, slogs through the deprivations of wartime, Molly waits for a sign from her father -- something to show that he is still alive.

Months pass with no word. And even with the support of friends like Peter, the son of one of the town's wealthiest men, and Jane, whose Japanese heritage makes her the focus of suspicion and ridicule, keeping her faith is even harder for Molly. Then the appearance of a mysterious pocket watch gives Molly hope. Could this be the sign she's been waiting for? Molly risks all to find out.