On Saturday, the family went skiing and shopping. The next day, Pearl Harbor was attacked, marking a turning point in their lives. By Monday, the country was at war.

Based on real letters from an ordinary American family, this is not a story about generals or battles. It is about what happens to a family when the world is at war and demands everything, and the government demands their silence.

Donald "Mac" Macdonald is recruited by the Manhattan Project. His wife, Bertha, manages the new rules regarding blackouts, rationing, recycling rubber and tin needed for the war effort, and security around her husband's new job. Their oldest, Sonny, 18, knows he'll be drafted and endeavors to join the 10th Mountain Division, using his friends and family to gather the necessary recommendations. Youngest son, Ig, is about to enter High School, becomes a messenger in the Boston office of the Manhattan Project, and at 15, gets his driver's license to deliver groceries. While Mac uses all his engineering skills in the race to bring the boys home, Sonny is determined to survive in the Apennine Mountains of Italy, and Ig has lost his carefree teenage years to work and school. Bertha hopes the secrecy is worth all the sacrifice. By war's end, the close-knit family has undergone unexpected changes.