Lily Davis Woodward was married for just days before her husband was sent abroad to fight in World War II. Now he and the other solder's are returning, and Lily and the small town of Toccoa, Georgia, plan a big celebration. Jake Russo, a handsome Italian immigrant, also back from war, is responsible for the elaborate fireworks display the town commissioned. After a chance encounter in a starlit field, he steals Lily's heart and soul fulfilling her in ways her socially minded, upper-class family cannot, leaving her torn between love and duty.