Kathleen Moore is nine years old when she is forcibly separated from her family by the foster care system. Old comics discovered in a musty basement and a worn copy of Alice in Wonderland becomes her map to a world of fantasies. From foster child to closeted Army ER doctor serving in Iraq, she is accompanied by childhood secrets and the trauma of her work as a battlefront physician. Now back in civilian life as a small-town family practitioner in rural California, Kathleen encounters Claire Hollander, a gregarious, uninhibited woman who will challenge Kathleen to face her demons and tear down the walls that box her in. A tale of opposites colliding and then reuniting, this complex novel balances humor and tragedy, the landscape of battle, and the interior of the human mind. A richly fleshed-out drama that takes place during our own time of war, the story is a powerful reminder that sometimes a fantasy is the key to survival.