Meet the Characters

Age 36 · Police detective · Redstone, California

Born in Missouri, Dan Kelly spent most of his life in the small Southern California town of Redstone. A policeman before the war, he served with the Army in the Mediterranean. After the liberation of Rome, he became a liaison between the American occupation forces and the Roman police. Dan left the Army with the rank of major and is considered a war hero.

Dan returned from Italy in 1947, haunted by his wartime experiences—especially the Battle of Monte Cassino.

His wife is Susan Kelly, a congressional aide in Washington whom he rarely sees.

Age 35 · United States Army captain · Camp Calder, California

Mike Fiorante was born in Brooklyn into a large Italian family. He joined the fighting in the Second World War as a young lieutenant and met Dan Kelly during the Battle of Monte Cassino. After the war, Dan asked Mike to serve as his aide and interpreter during the occupation of Rome. Their shared wartime experiences forged an enduring bond.

Following the occupation, Mike was assigned to Camp Calder, a short drive from Redstone. Now a captain, he loves the Army, the men with whom he serves and the friends he has made in California.

Age 40 · Owner of Kate’s Diner · Redstone, California

Kate Becker was born in Missouri and moved to Redstone as a teenager with her brother, Dan Kelly, and their parents in the 1920s. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert “Bobby” Becker, and they had a daughter, Alison, now fifteen. Bobby was killed during the war at Peleliu.

As a widow, Kate opened Kate’s Diner, which has become the heart of Redstone and a home away from home for its faithful clientele. Smart and occasionally feisty, Kate works hard and has made the diner prosper. She cares deeply for her friends, her brother and her daughter.

Age 63 · Senior LAPD detective · Hyde Park, Los Angeles, California

Colin Thacker is a senior detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. He has reached an age when most men would be considering retirement, but he still loves his work. Honest, doggedly determined and seemingly unflappable, Colin has earned the admiration and respect of his fellow officers throughout a career in which he has seen nearly everything.

Overweight and largely indifferent to his appearance, Colin nevertheless commands respect whenever he enters a room. He takes particular pride in recognizing talent and mentoring younger policemen. The latest addition to the long list of men he has guided to successful careers in police work may be Dan Kelly.

Off duty, he lives quietly with his wife, Caroline, in their modest home in Hyde Park.

Age 39 · Former carpenter and U.S. Marine · Redstone, California

Marty McDougall has spent his entire life in Redstone. He met Dan Kelly and Dan’s sister, Kate, when they were in high school. He was best friends with Kate’s future husband, Bobby Becker, and was his best man. Sarcastic and sly, Marty was always the life of the party—and something of a ladies’ man.

During the Second World War, Marty served as a sergeant in the Marine Corps. He was badly wounded and lost the use of his legs. Life in a wheelchair has been difficult, and Marty has increasingly turned to drink and self-pity. Those who love him are searching for a way to break his downward spiral, give him a new sense of purpose and bring back the Marty they remember from before the war.

Age 45 · Catholic priest · Redstone, California

Born in Warsaw to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, Father Ted Gorski was a brilliant young scholar who became a priest. He was studying in England when Germany and Russia invaded Poland in September 1939. He never saw his parents again.

During the war, he served as a chaplain with the Free Polish forces in the Italian campaign. He met Dan Kelly in Rome after the fighting ended, and the two became close friends. Ted has since become Dan’s confidant and, informally, his therapist.

At Dan’s urging, Ted immigrated to the United States, where Dan helped arrange his appointment to the Catholic parish in Redstone. A large man with a generous nature, a brilliant mind and a lively sense of humor, Ted is loved throughout the community. His sermons are like a tonic to his parishioners, and his strong moral compass guides everything he does. Everyone is welcome in Father Ted’s church.

Age 24 · Junior police detective · Redstone, California

Francisco “Chico” Ramirez is the junior half of the Redstone police detective squad. Slight of build, sharply dressed and seldom without a smile, he loves his hometown but yearns for a bigger stage and the chance to prove what he can accomplish.

Eager to please and determined to establish his own worth, Chico wants to earn the respect of his community and of Dan Kelly, the senior detective he admires. Most important of all, he wants to prove himself to his father, George Ramirez—newspaper editor and perhaps the most popular man in Redstone.

Age 50 · Owner and editor of the Redstone Record · Redstone, California

Jorge “George” Ramirez came to America from Mexico as a young child and spoke no English when he entered school. He began working at the L.A. Times as a young man and quickly proved himself exceptionally talented—good enough to become a star at any major daily newspaper. Instead, he chose to return home.

George now owns and edits the Redstone Record, the town newspaper published three times a week. He loves Redstone, and his writing is a testament to that devotion. His column, Redstone Ramblings, is widely regarded as one of the finest chronicles of American life during World War II. Funny, intelligent and deeply committed to his community, George lives with his wife, Maria. They have two grown children.

Age 30 · Cook and former U.S. Marine · Redstone, California

Calvin Lafayette was born and raised in Louisiana. The greatest influence in his life was his grandfather, a handyman who raised Calvin and taught him everything he knew. Calvin joined the Marines during the Second World War, at least partly to escape the restrictions and injustices of the Jim Crow South.

After the war, Calvin was mustered out of the Marines in San Diego and chose to remain in California with his wife, Clara. They have a daughter, Grace. Tall, thin and handsome, he is rarely seen without a warm smile. Calvin works as a cook at Kate’s Diner, but his ambitions reach further. He believes California will give him the kind of life for his family that was not possible when he was a boy.

Age 31 · Newspaper reporter · Los Angeles, California

Katharine Celeste “K.C.” Thompson is a college graduate with a degree in the new field of journalism. She works at The Standard, one of Los Angeles’s daily newspapers, covering the city and crime beat. Intelligent, resourceful and sharp, K.C. stands out not only for her ability but also because she is a woman succeeding in work still dominated almost entirely by men. She is always alert for a good story.

By chance, K.C. covered a Los Angeles congressman on a junket through the occupied capitals of Europe. In Rome, she met Dan Kelly, Mike Fiorante and Susan Somerville, who would soon become Mrs. Dan Kelly. Despite her small stature, K.C. commands the respect of her peers and has a talent for cutting through evasions to reach the heart of the matter. Her star is rising.