After the deaths of his parents in 1909, Martin A. Bernot leaves Meade, Kansas. His tour of duty with the Merchant Marines leads him to Pennsylvania. Timothy L. Blanche grows up in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and raises his family during The Depression working as a train engineer at a steel mill. His eldest son Francis meets Martin's daughter, Camille, in high school. While in the Coast Guard, Franny receives the Navy Silver Cross for valor, marries Camille, becomes a father of twins, but he is soon a widower. His journey through two more marriages is laced with the internal struggles of his...