Joshua and Clara are both struggling with forgiveness and past life traumas. This is something that has hindered them from moving on and enjoying their love and lives together. 

The time of the story is after WWII, where Joshua bravely fought for the United States Coast Guard. Before he went to the war, he wrestled with alcoholism. He had managed to curb his drinking while he was at war.

After WWII ended, Joshua returned to his hometown penniless. The demons of his past and of war quickly overtook him and immediately after he came home, he relapsed and started drinking again. But the solider in him pushed him to fight for his life in a different way now. 

In this second part of the After WWII series, Joshua works hard to conquer his addiction. He pushes himself at work, so much that he rarely has time for his girlfriend Clara. The veteran attends AA meetings at a local church. They are led by Pastor Todd, who has been instrumental in his sobriety journey. But Joshua is afraid that he may relapse yet again. 

There’s so much pressure to stay sane and work hard like everything is okay, and it’s really getting to him. He starts to convince himself that he may need a drink to cool off some steam.  

Clara is Joshua’s girlfriend. She’s a biracial woman who has faced the cruelty of racism ever since she was a young girl. This is something that haunts her life to this day. There is also a lingering fear of what her children with Joshua will go through after he proposes to her. 

She doesn’t want them to live the life she lived - a life of being different. Because, she was neither black nor white. She was other...and that made her different from most. 

Soon, Joshua and Clara are faced with the hard task of forgiving a young teenage boy Tom Woods, who caused the death of Gregory. He was Joshua’s best friend and Clara’s uncle. They battle with the fact that Tom is free because his father, the sheriff, bought his freedom. 

They want justice. Yet, that may never happen. If they can’t forgive, how can they cope with their own battles? How can they move on and be happy? Will Joshua and Clara finally let go of all the toxic waste they carry around?

Can love save them? Will it help them face the hurdles of life? Will they ever turn to God for help or just keep trying to do it by themselves?