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.