When a series of passenger airplanes crashed in Elizabeth, New Jersey within a three-month period in 1951-1952, Judy Blume was a teenager. "These events have lingered in my mind ever since," says Blume. "It was a crazy time. Was it sabotage? An alien invasion? No one knew, and people were understandably terrified." Against this background, Blume uses her imagination to bring us the lives of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, who will be profoundly affected by these events.