Have you ever wondered how an insignificant, chance meeting from your past can influence the future for generation to come? That is the theme of this historical fiction novel. In this novel, the past and the future are explored through three generations of the fictitious McConnell family. Using a combination of laugh aloud humor and tear jerking tragedy, the author takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride. With bizarre twists and turns, the story will have the reader believing the events that shaped this fictitious family, could easily be a description of their own family. Historically accurate, impeccably researched, and well written, the featured characters, Irene, Sonny and Buddy come to life with period language and settings. Irene's story begins in a manufacturing city in New Jersey, where she endures the hardships of working in a silk mill just to support her family. Despite a failed marriage, friends and loves lost, Irene's inevitable success is based on her beliefs and strength of character. Sonny's story takes us through the inhumanity of war, and its effects on the loved ones left behind. Despite the negativity of his father-in-law, and a sudden twist of fate, Sonny rises to his success by embracing the new technologies and humanity's greatest achievement. Buddy's narrative takes us to another war, twenty years in the future, at a time when the Nation is in turmoil. In a faraway land, Buddy experiences a burden that he must bear for the rest of his life. In the face of that, his determination and ability to adapt carry him closely in the footsteps of his father. The reader will relate to the McConnell family as they travel through historical events to the year 2032, with tears and triumph, laughter and loss, and with the ever-present support of their mysterious family guardian.