Publisher's Synopsis
With its roots in a true but little-known incident involving the aerial bombing of a Midwest powder production plant in 1969, Summer of Rain, Summer of Fire illuminates the battle between conservative and liberal, between conformity and independent thought. It portrays the effects of a war that was fought not only on foreign soil, but in living rooms in the middle of America. Above all, Summer of Rain, Summer of Fire is an illumination of the timeless conflicts on the battlefield of the human heart.
It's the spring of 1967, during the turbulent protest days of the Vietnam War. Eighteen-year-old Phil Keyhoe takes a summer job mowing lawns at the Strongs Ammunition Plant, a place that manufactures powder for use in the Vietnam War. When Phil's World War II hero father has a medical crisis, Phil is forced to put his college plans with Mariah, a rebellious new love interest, on hold and work full time in the gunpowder production lines. Meanwhile, Mariah joins a radical anti-war group and becomes involved with its charismatic leader. As her commitment against the war intensifies, she plans to orchestrate a major protest against the Strongs Plant. Phil is caught in a web of indecision and must choose between his loyalty to his father and his feelings for Mariah. The choice he finally makes not only affects him, but his father, the plant, and the entire town.
