Summary

Marian’s and Jamie’s plots depict their involvement in WWII between 1941 and 1944. In 1941, Marian visits Jamie and Caleb. Jamie does not want to become involved in the impending war but does not want to think himself a coward either. Caleb appears passively ready to enlist, neither enthusiastic at the prospect of war nor afraid of involvement. Jamie visits Sarah Fahey, who is now married. They harbor feelings for each other, but Sarah is not willing to have an affair. They leave on bad terms, but Sarah does plant the idea in Jamie’s head of being a combat artist in the war. After Pearl Harbor, Marian goes to NYC to enlist in Jackie Cochran’s female pilot program. Despite Marian’s opportunity to devote herself to flight, “the wish to break free persists,” in her (395).

Marian’s training occurs in...