Often, before a storm, there is that moment of eerie silence, stillness, tranquillity. A moment of absolute peace. Everything in nature stands motionless in anticipation. Even the initiated can be drawn into the deception.
The moment Jack saw a lone figure on a horse riding toward him on that hot day in early spring was such a moment in time, literally and figuratively. It was the moment before he knew she was a she. The moment before he'd been instantly captured consciously and subconsciously by her beauty. The moment before the physical storm that forced their acquaintance. The moment before his life became the storm.
Returning from the war, Jack Sutherland awaits the arrival of his beautiful Irish bride, oblivious to the heartwrenching twists and turns that lie on the road ahead.