Cory Michael Smith
When Declan loses his dog and best friend, Ralphie, his life starts to unravel.
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
A young woman joins the military to be part of something bigger than herself and her small-town roots. Instead, she ends up as a new guard at Guantanamo Bay, where her mission is far from black and white. Surrounded by hostile jihadists and aggressive squadmates, she strikes up an unusual friendship with one of the detainees.