 |
Staff Sergeant Dan Mastik is returning home, wounded and weary, yet resolute in his love and faith in God’s plan for him. The narrative opens up with a chilling scene. Dan may be coming home, but the four flag-draped coffins of his fallen fellow soldiers leave him torn. Dan’s introspective nature allows audiences to naturally enter his mind and experience his feelings in their most raw state. Additionally, from the very beginning of the novel, civilian audiences are made privy to a snapshot of how the right equipment, especially aircraft, makes all the difference. Yet there is an inherent dichotomy to the machinery. The C-17, for instance, is utilized as a pivotal tool for medical units. Although it is designed as a tool to take lives, it also becomes instrumental in life-saving measures.
On the flight back, a heavily medicated Dan falls in and out of dreaming, taking readers on a journey that spans his formative years in Banner, Colorado, college, marriage, kids, his first kiss, etc. At his core is Sophie Sandori and his unyielding love for her despite having going through the waves of life. When Sophie signs Dan’s yearbook with “lots of luck” in eighth grade, puppy love is redefined. It is this memento and message that carries Dan through turbulent times. And now, as he is returning to civilian life, memories of Sophie surface fervently, begging to be acknowledged. Exchanging weapons and war for love, the man who completed many covert missions with his friend and partner, Frank, follows his unconditional trust in the Lord to finish the missing chapter of his love story.
The theme of long lost loves reuniting has undoubtedly been done before, but what makes the storyline intriguing is Dan’s steadfast belief in the Lord and his love. At the same time, we get to see a human side of Dan’s character as he is anxious if Sophie has feelings for him after all these years. Their Banner High School twenty-fifth class reunion sets the perfect stage for rekindling these emotions with the hope that a small ember can turn into a full-fledged inferno of love. The narrative invites one to conjure up the image of Dan and Sophie growing up together and being shaped together through life’s vulnerabilities and special moments. From going roller skating to attending the same church and memorizing Bible verses, the duo share a bond that transcends the material. Yet, for a love story of this nature to reach its completion with a fitting ending, faith must be woven together with luck, and as luck would have it, Dan and Sophie’s reunion encounters several near misses. Nonetheless, Dan is a man on a mission with a laser focus on bringing his past and future into a resounding present.
The devout nature of faith within the story paints Dan as a man of immeasurable strength and composure. As such, the narrative revolves around his central character and is driven by his actions and feelings, which are remarkably and universally relatable to all audiences. Overall, the storyline flows seamlessly and gives audiences a pathway to understand how faith extends beyond just verses and can be applied directly to one’s daily life.