Margaret Mayfield is nearly an old maid at twenty-seven when she marries Captain Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early. Hes the most famous man their Missouri town has ever produced: a naval officer and an astronomera genius who, according to the local paper, has changed the universe. Margarets mother calls the match "a piece of luck." Yet Andrew confounds Margarets expectations from the moment their train leaves for his naval base in San Francisco, and soon she realizes that his devotion to science leaves little room for anything, or anyone, else. She stands by him through tragedies both personal and those they share with the nation. But as World War II approaches, Andrews obsessions take a darker turn, forcing Margaret to reconsider the life shed so carefully constructed.