Mary Shelly Black is a sixteen year old in the fall of 1918. Her mother, a physician is deceased and her father was arrested for protesting the war (World War I). She is sent to live with her aunt who works in the shipyards. The Spanish Influenza and the war are constantly on every one's minds. Mary's beau, Stephen, who inherited his father's photography studio along with his brother Julius, is headed off to war. Stephen is a photographer like his father, while to Julius photography is just the way he makes money - to support his drug habit. He takes doctored photos of individual with their relative's spirits. When word comes that Stephen has been killed in France, Mary Shelly is devastated. When she can no longer stand the isolation imposed upon her by her aunt's attempt to keep her safe from the flu pandemic, she volunteers at a local shelter for wounded soldiers. What she finds out there changes many lives. This is an excellent atmospheric piece. 1918 really comes alive in the harrowing, suspense-filled haunting of a determined, indomitable young woman.
Gateway Award Preliminary Nominee 2015-16
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