DAWN OF INNOCENCE a novel by Manly E Hogg was written while I was out to sea during the Gulf War. I had written a poem called "The One " while standing a mid watch as Officer of the Deck. This poem led to the novel which is about a Native American college student and an African American student that meet, fall in love and then find themselves in a situation where they have to prove themselves worthy of the other parents love and respect. Dawn, the Indian girl, finds herself alone in "the hood" facing cultural differences which include a violent ex-girlfriend that does not want to accept losing her football star ex-boyfriend via her meal ticket out of the hood. Darryl, an African American finds himself alone on the reservation proving his manhood through trials and tribulations at the hands of a warrior chief grandson that refuses to accept that his meal ticket off the reservation is slipping away as Darryl meets all test given by the old warrior Chief.