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A descendant of the Carlyle family of Ivy Manor, Leigh Sinclair leads a middle class lifestyle in the years after World War II. Her overprotective mother Bette drives the teenager crazy, but what’s unusual about that? Leigh discovers her penchant for writing and desires to be a journalist. Her first assignment for her high-school paper will cover the Martin Luther King rally in Washington, D.C. Much to her dismay, her mother forbids her attendance. She’s befriended by Frank Dawson, a young Negro college graduate and goes anyway. The bond that’s formed between the white girl and black boy is forged in the emotional turmoil of the rally.
Pursuing her dream of journalism takes Leigh to the Democratic National Convention where she’s injured in the frenzy of rioting. Her best friend, Mary Beth attends with her and is lost. Leigh feels a need to find her friend. This quest leads her to San Francisco, the drug scene, and FBI agent Dane Hanley. Is the emotional turmoil around her once again leading her heart, or is this love at last? Leigh’s examination of people’s motives puts many events in perspective, and she is led to understand she must lean on God.
Lyn Cote has masterfully woven a story of love lost, love gained, and lives wrecked within her pages. Tackling a time in history seldom broached, Cote brings to life the events from the newspaper and the flickering television screen with the drama in which her characters are involved. The faith-filled women of Ivy Manor are survivors.
Reviewed by Eileen Key
for The Road to Romance
November 13, 2005
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