Harry Clinton...dead since the 19th century, returns to give a message to Annie and Roberta... the main characters of the book. Little do they realize that he is the catalyst that will change their lives forever. His message assists both women to change course.. emancipating themselves from the strings of the past ... to go forward to the future. Two young women...childhood friends, emotionally and culturally different but similar in their search for their identity as independent women. Annie's life reflects the traditional role of her mother but searching for more expression as a woman of her time..the 1970's. Annie's love affair with a local businessman gives her the freedom sexually but restricts her demands as a growing individual. Roberta, comfortable with her outspoken manner and fierce independence, is ahead of her time, creating havoc in her life. Her feminine, sexy veneer allows her to "climb the ladder" until she is labeled as a tough, aggressive and ambitious woman, not succumbing to the pressure to restrict her by a corporate world who allows women to succeed only up to the door of the corporate boardroom. Roberta's tragic younger years molds and creates that strength that she possesses. Her near death experience from an illegal abortion, her views of equality in the work force and other female issues cause her to be aware of who she is and why she was destined to face these issues. There is a piercing of the veil of the past depicting the woman of yesteryear showing how she may have affected the woman of today. Roberta and Annie are confronted with the woman of yesteryear, ironically, through a man., Harry Clinton... which leads Annie on a desperate path to find him. However, Annie could never have imagined what she was to discover.