A story about marriage set in the middle of WW2. Polly Fulton, daughter of the industrial giant Burton Fulton (B.F.), was going to be married to her long time friend and almost too level-headed boyfriend Bob prior to WW2. They've been in love with each other for quite some time. However, prior to their announcing their engagement, Polly discovers Tom Brett, a more wild and more in need of motherly maintanence. Fearing a life of dullness with Bob, she calls off her engagement to Bob and announces that she will marry Tom, much to B.F's disappointment.

However, at the outbreak of WW2 Tom's job takes him to work in DC where he has a job with the war department. Polly lives in New York and she has problems communication with Tom on account that Tom is very busy. Polly, sensing stress with their marriage, decides to pay Tom a visit. Instead of acting like they missed one another, there is even more tension and arguing. Polly suspects that Tom is having an affair.

The story involves how Polly is raised by her father, B.F. He is controlling and very powerful. Naturally, she respects him but her life is managed by her father. It was her way of rebelling when she dumped Bob and married Tom. However, Polly grows up to be like her father and we discover that Tom has the same sort of reaction she had to be controlled: he runs away from their marriage.

This is the first Marquand book I've read. The writing was 1st rate, however, the sequence of events in the book vary -- sometimes you are in the present and sometimes you are in the past, as Polly recalls her youth. A little hard to get through at times because there wasn't much action and the payoff was a bit of a let down. However, I may check out this guy again, particularly his Pulitzer winning book. The details concerning life in the states during WW2 were also interesting.