In The Beginning

It’s 1913; Fort Madison, Iowa, Isla is fifteen years old. Her older sisters, Amy, along with her mother are devastated when their father and husband die of influenza. Needing Isla to increase her sewing skills to be able to help with the household expenses, her mother sends her to a dressmaking boarding school for the summer.
At eighteen, Isla goes to work at Rosa’s Dress Shop and falls in love with Jonathan, the owner’s son, who is a college playboy. She becomes pregnant, and they are forced to get married against Jonathan’s wishes. After a questionable accident their baby is still-born.
After having another child, Franny, the marriage ends. Isla and her baby move back to her mother’s now a converted boarding house.
Despite the fifteen year age difference, settling for security, Isla marries Jake Whitman, who has a secret. Later they move to California for a new start.
Franny meets Harry in high school. He is a good man and they marry. They have twin girls, Jani and Emma. As teenagers, they will take the reader through several boy-girl escapades. Jani falls in love with a boy six years older. Emma has a steady boyfriend, but when she meets Brad, the chemistry is too strong to ignore. Unbeknownst to Emma, Brad is engaged to another girl.