A lonely sailor without a sawbuck to spare. A gorgeous socialite on the home front. Letters soaked in longing. Secrets taken to the grave. Easy births. Hard deaths. And dogs --dogs aplenty. They say love conquers all, but will bonds forged by Lt. N. Robert Underhill and Miss Merrilee Meier during World War II survive the peaks and valleys of peacetime? Across their 58-year-marriage, Bob and Merrilee confront holiday fiascoes and funeral foul-ups, windless regattas and catastrophic tornadoes, a medical crisis and a financial reversal. But rearing six kids is the ultimate test of a love that began with a letter.