During World War II, Americans experienced a great deal of sacrifice. Men went to war, women worked and raised families at the same time, and supplies and food were limited. Fear was also very real, and Americans were constantly on the lookout for spies and other signs of the enemy. Lily's own father was sent to Europe to serve his country.
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During the school year, Lily lives in the neighborhood of St. Albans in Queens with her father and her grandmother. She goes to a strict Catholic school and is taught by nuns.
During the summer, Lily and her family go to Rockaway Beach, on the Atlantic Ocean. What was once a place rest and carefree days for Lily is now a place of loneliness and worry.