World War II is over, but the Honeycutt family is still feeling its devastating effects. Especially Daddy, who can’t forget what he saw on the battlefield and sometimes can’t cope with everyday life. Fourteen-year-old Ellie Honeycutt finds

escape at the NASCAR speedway and in her dreams of travel and college. Her twin sister, Ida, clings to family and finds solace in her sketchbook. Once inseparable, the two sisters find themselves growing apart with the start of high school. They

make different friends, take different classes—and unfortunately fall for the same charming classmate. Can Ellie and Ida renew their deep bond while finding their own separate drives in life?

In this fourth addition to the acclaimed Bakers Mountain Stories, Joyce Moyer Hostetter once again brings to life the quiet town of Hickory, North Carolina, and its residents, exploring the close ties of family and friends against the backdrop of

the nuclear arms race, the Korean War, polio scares, and the 1952 presidential election.