Though far from happy, Livy accepts her fate and is graciously taken in by the town's people and Ray's family including his sister, Martha (Winningham), a warm, friendly woman who welcomes Livy with open arms. Still, she continues to send letters to the missing soldier and holds out a grain of hope for his return.
Ray is patient and willing to do anything he can to make Livy comfortable in the home he has lived in all of his life. But it takes a visit from Livy's sister, who presents an opportunity for Livy to return home, and a friendship with a Japanese family who live in a nearby internment camp for her to begin to see the magic that ordinary life with Ray has to offer.