Subtitle from cover

"In Hotel Laguna, Nicola Harrison transports readers from the female-staffed factories of World War II to the sun-splashed beaches of southern California, plunging into one woman's daring journey to demand more for herself. With rich period detail and skillful consideration of a postwar society in flux, Harrison spins a tale of love, identity, and the hidden secrets of the art world. Nicola Harrison has a gift for crafting leading ladies full of heart and moxie, and readers will fall in love with Hazel." - Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post"--

1942: Hazel Francis leaves Wichita, Kansas, for California to do her part in the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft she helps construct bombers for the U.S. military. But when the war is over, Hazel is dismissed: expected to return home and become a wife and mother. Staying on the West Coast, Hazel finds herself in Laguna Beach and answers an add for a model/assistant to artist Hanson Radcliff. He is respected in the community and the art scene, but lives under the shadow of a decades-old scandal. Still desiring to work with airplanes-- maybe even learn to fly one someday-- Hazel is torn between pursuing her dream and the dream life she has been granted. -- adapted from jacket