November 1944, Paris, France. GI John arrives in France as a mechanic in the Military Railway Service. He meets and falls in love with a young French woman, Odette, working in a corner cafe after her family's business was destroyed. He is posted to Germany and returns a year later when his proposal of marriage is accepted and they decide to go live in the US, much to her family's chagrin. But first Odette must stop over at a 'cigarette camp', Philip Morris Camp in Le Havre, for indoctrination and training in being 'American' before boarding the MS Vulcania for the voyage to the new land. Fast forward to the start of the book where her great niece Maud and her husband Julien are preparing to embark on a trip from Paris to Michigan to meet up with Odette. But many a culture shock awaits them!