It’s Christmas of 1945. World War II has ended only months before, and the country is looking forward to peace and prosperity. Has the sleepy town of Santa Fe, New Mexico, forgotten the 1938 disappearance of little Juan Pedro Padilla? The event remained a mystery to everyone—the eight-year-old child had vanished without a trace.
Over seven years later, a new puzzle is unfolding. A young man in the uniform of a U.S. Marine appears at Annie and Tyler’s ranch on Christmas Day. He claims to be Juan Pedro Padilla. Is it really him? But why he is a grown man? Where has he been? Annie used to baby sit the little boy and sees the resemblance, but— How could it be?
Throughout the day, he describes his past to Annie and the other Christmas guests, revealing a story of intrigue, bravery, tragic loss, and romance. Juan Pedro, like Annie’s husband Tyler, has unwittingly become an “accidental traveler,” flung into another time and another place. He’s seeking answers, answers that will change his life forever.
Will he discover his past? Or will he return to another time? And more importantly, what about his future?