Buckeye : One town. Two families. A secret that changes everything

Cal Jenkins, wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, aspires to live a quiet, honest life in Bonhomie, Ohio. His wife Becky – intuitive, whimsical – senses danger long before she understands its shape. Across town, Margaret Salt carries secrets she’s spent a lifetime burying, while her husband Felix tries desperately to be the man the world insists he must be.

Everything changes on V-E Day, when a single, stolen moment binds all four of them together. As wartime gives way to an uneasy peace, the consequences of that day ripple forward, pulling the next generation into its undertow.

But in a small town where nothing stays hidden, how long can the truth stay buried?

Author: Patrick Ryan

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Sagas, Fiction: special features

Published on 1 Sep 2026 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.