Jesse can't escape his past. Raina can't escape the present. When the two meet, can they find their way to love and a future? Recovering from a combat injury sustained in the Persian Gulf War, Airman-1st Class & Staff Sergeant Jesse Quarless is on medical leave when he meets Raina. After being enlisted and deployed for six years, Jesse returns to his rural Wisconsin hometown not as the hellion teenager he once was, but as a grown man with a different perspective on his future. Like racing to extinguish a lit fuse, he finds it impossible to outrun his past before it destroys his hopes for a future. Social worker and responsible good girl, Raina Blake is swept off her feet by the quiet, charming, and mysterious airman. Abiding by the rules of her employment at the VA clinic and fighting for independence from her overbearing father, Raina knows she can't let her attraction to Jesse grow into a relationship-especially since his military leave will expire in a few months. A single night changes Jesse's path. Can Raina break away from the safety of following the rules and accept a life into the unknown with Jesse? Striving to look beyond Jesse's past, can Raina give love a chance? A story of forgiveness, acceptance, and growth.