Amid 150,000 people, the author at the and what unfolds is a between two people; and / , haunted by his time in service, and , a successful and designer with a . Through their 3003-day journey, Martha eloquently describes their Mike's "lost" self as he is , as well as her own after the of . Now, Martha's clients are dying of . Martha tells the story partly through , from the early romantic stages, and after the couple is married when Mike . Through their letters, it becomes both of their stories,