Other Side of the Door — Jean Rossetta

The Other Side of the Door is rich in history. Mary Katherine McCart is an Irish immigrant living in Chicago. Her family and friends think she is going to marry Sean O'Malley, but Mary Katherine wants to better her life, and she doesn't think Sean is her ticket to a better life. So all thought she loves Sean with all her heart. When her employer asks her to marry him, she agrees. She is disowned by her family. Sean ends up marrying her friend. WWI breaks out and Mary Katherine's brothers and Sean enlist. The Spanish flu runs rampant and kills many people, including Sean's wife.

Prohibition is enacted which closes down Mary Katherine's husband Joseph's liquor distribution Company. Joseph, is gunned down when he refuses to sell his trucks to the Mafia. Eventually Mary Katherine and Sean marry. They move to Miami where they build an Inn. WWII breaks out and soon their children are in the midst of the war. Their son Michael is reported missing in action when his plane is shot down. They turn the Inn into a place where men can come to recoup.