Marian Faye Novak contrasts the innocense of the early 60's and the glamour of Marine Corps pagentry with the cold realities of the war and how it affected men, women, and relationships. "I watched my husband train for war. I waited thirteen months for him to return from it, and then I waited another fifteen years for him to truly come home." In 1965 military life hold great allure for idealistic young students like Marian Faye Novak and her husband, Marine Lieutenant David Novak. Married only a week before their arrival at the training base in Quantico, Virginia, the new couple is thrown into the rigors of daily life in the military with little but their faith in the future - and each other - to carry them through their upcoming separation. A sheltered bride, Marian matures into a woman of courage and substance as she contfonts newlywed poverty, her first teaching job, unexpected chinks in her husband's white armor, and finding an identity and friends in the forbidding military community.