This is the story of an East Texas farm boy, the war in the Pacific, and love. Based on true events, Red Smith leaves his farm, experiences the horrors of war, and returns a man, wanting only to go back to work on the farm. His pursuit of paradise takes him into brutal combat in the dark, steamy Philippine jungles and leads him back home to his dream girl, Juliette Hamilton.

The story begins on an East Texas farm and moves to Hawaii, Australia, New Guinea, Leyte, Mindoro, Mindanao, and Occupied Japan, then returns to the Texas Panhandle and moves westward into Arizona with the migration of farms and farmers in the new industrialized America. It is a story of human resilience, love, and coming-of-age.