Dionna Dodson attends the military funeral of her veteran husband.
The Chaplain conducts the memorial ceremony: "We're not going to say good-bye to Rodney, but we say, "see you later" as we remember the promises of God.
After her husband's casket is wheeled out of sight, Dionna prays: "Lord, please let me know I will see him again."
A flash of memory takes her back to September 1965, the day they first met.
The heroine, Dionna Weston Dodson, was born in shame. She vows, "I'll never be like Mother and Daddy, to be forced into a loveless marriage after an unwanted pregnancy." She carries emotional scars, with feelings of rejection. "That's me, unwanted."
Her father is angry, and violent. Shame over his father being kicked out of church, he turns away from the church and from God. He is determined to protect Dionna from making the mistake of "falling for the wrong man".
The hero, Rodney Dodson, is handsome, and four years older, with the reputation with women. When he meets Dionna, he shows strong protective instincts, wanting to save her from an abusive home.
He feels the need to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, going to war. The United States has become involved in the conflict of Viet Nam. Rodney plans to join the United States Marine Corps, instead of waiting for the draft.
The day he meets, Dionna, he tells his father, "I found the girl I'm going to merry."
