WWI took many men away, leaving women to adapt to their absence. Iowa school teacher, Ina Marie Martin found herself a victim of this tumultuous time. Like men who were physically or mentally injured, she needed to recover, to find a way to avoid becoming an outcast. She fled her shame and found a new life on the Island of Hawaii. Other circumstances besides the war, contributed to the tumult of that era, influenza, prohibition, food and clothing shortages, lack of rights for women, racial and ethnic persecution. Ina Marie finds herself dealing with all these issues as she maps out her new existence.