This story had its origins in an email in 2013 sent by Nina to Gordon with an idea for a writing project she had in mind. Nina is a retired teacher having spent years teaching dependents of U.S. military personnel in Okinawa and Japan, and later with middle school children in the U.S.

As an educator she was familiar with educational and curriculum materials for her middle school charges, and lamented the absence of any relevant and current information dealing with WWII, specifically about the evacuation and internment of persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast during the world.

She was aware that Gordon and his family had been interned during the war, and thought maybe there was something there for a joint book about their experiences as children during the war. Her initial though was they would each write about their family’s experiences, sharing events and remembered stories, and the two family arcs would be joined to make one story line.

Both Nina and Gordon were three years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the initial stories for each were what they remembered from that time. On the advice of their editor who looked at their early writings, they agreed to aging their two characters to age ten in order to give themselves more life experiences and maturity to understand what was going on around them.

Because Nina and Gordon didn’t actually meet until they were in high school, the story would of needs be creatively worked so they meet at an earlier age. While many of the elements of their stories are true to what happened for each, the overall story and certain events would be reworked to carry the story of two children who already knew each other.

The back story has Nina and Gordon meeting when they were in the second grade. They become fast friends, and this is their relationship when in several years the nation is awakened to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Anti-Japanese sentiment explodes up and down the West Coast, and Gordon for his part becomes the focal point of anger expressed by classmates.

Nina takes exception to the attacks on her friend, and becomes his champion and guardian at no little cost to herself. When the president signs into law an executive order authorizing the evacuation of everyone of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast, Nina and Gordon agree to stay in touch by mail. This begins their journey separated by time and space, each dealing with their own family’s circumstances, each trying to understand each other’s journey.

Through their experiences before the war, combined with Nina’s support of her friend throughout, and their long-distance relationship during their separation, both gain a profound appreciation and love for family, a deepening of their friendship, and a healing in the matter of race.