A recent widow meets an army major while skiing and becomes romantically involved with him despite pressures from friends and family.

Tongues begin to wag when a lonely widow becomes romantically involved with a military man. Problems arise when the gossip is filtered down to her own children.—Daniel Bubbeo <[email protected]>

Jessica Drummond is a recent widow whose husband died after a long illness. Drained by the ordeal, she is vulnerable and lonely but avoids becoming romantically involved with her family attorney despite pressure from her domineering mother. After fending off a friend's husband's lascivious advances, she goes away to a friend's vacation cabin for the Christmas holidays. While skiing there, she meets and falls in love with Scott Landis, an Army major on leave. Family and friends view the relationship as inappropriate, and gossip turns into a chorus of disapproval.—[email protected]

In spring 1942 in the upper-middle-class community of Lake Forest outside Chicago, businessman Paul Drummond passes away after a lengthy illness, survived by his loving 33-year-old wife Jessica and their two early-teen sons Keith and Kim. Jess' life has been like being in a bubble of convention where she is expected to do certain things, like to now wear black and grieve Paul's passing for the rest of her own life, much like her own mother, Mary Kimball, has done; were she ever to remarry, she must take someone respectable within the community and their social circle, such as her friend and the family's lawyer Frank Everett. Her life is even more difficult; the boys are already away at boarding school and at the age of not relying emotionally on her for everything in their lives anymore, leaving her alone in the house at night with Paul's memory swirling around her. While she likes Frank as a friend, she doesn't feel the pangs of romantic feelings again until by chance that autumn she meets US Army Major Scott Landis. While her mother is more open in her disapproval, Jess spending time with Scott leads to her so-called friends talking disparagingly about her behind her back. She must decide to follow her heart against that convention or buckle under the pressure, especially as it affects the boys' lives as well. Conversely, Scott must decide if he fits anywhere into Jess' very-insulated world, especially as his own future is uncertain with the war still raging.—Huggo