Publisher's Synopsis
It is 1943, and nineteen-year-old Casey Cochran joins the Air Force and enters World War II to escape his father's drunken abuse. In the cockpit of a Mustang, he finds his destiny. This is where he belongs, blasting the Jerries out of the sky in wild dogfights in the skies over Europe. With each kill, he is not only helping to destroy the German Luftwaffe, but proving his worth to the father he hates. He has four kills, and needs a fifth to be a fighter Ace. On the mission where he gets that fifth kill, he is shot down and parachutes into a beautiful valley, untouched by war, in the mountains of eastern France.
He is hidden by a Frenchman, Jean-Albert, and his daughter, Solange. Both speak perfect English, a lucky break. The valley is another Eden--alive with a beauty that seems almost unreal, and under the spell of this magical place, Casey's soul finds peace, and with the gentle Solange, he finds love like he has never known. They vow to love forever, and that she will wait for him to come for her after the war.
Reality sets in after he is returned to his base. None of his comrades believe him. Even an Army psychiatrist pronounces him delusional. Was it real, or a creation of his imagination? Did he really fall desperately in love? When he thinks of it now, it's like recalling a vivid dream.
The day the war ends, he sets out to find her. He searches desperately through the ruins of the war-torn mountains, but nothing is familiar. The valley is gone, and Solange is probably dead. With a heavy heart, he decides to give up the search, and then he makes a startling discovery that is as unbelievable as it is real.
