As Henry Hobart comes of age in the early 1900s, he navigates all the teen drama of a broken heart and the dilemma of being a middle child. He is a track star at his local high school in North Salem, and loves sports. But, nothing he does seems to please his father who wants him to be like his older brother Ralph, and become a lawyer. Torn between love for his sweetheart, Mary Clay, and his desire to serve his country, Henry decides to join the Marines and finds himself on Parris Island training for World War I. Follow his transformation as he writes home describing his daily routine and then, ships out to the battle field and trench warfare in France. Will Henry's courage waver as he faces the reality of trench war? Is he discouraged when he's not allowed to return home before being shipped out to the battlefield