ACT I
In the autumn of 1945, 12-year-old Irene eagerly awaits her father’s return from war, but his homecoming gets derailed when Irene crashes headlong into Cassie, her former best friend, who has not spoken to Irene since the accident. As Irene struggles with changing relationships and growing up, her father battles his own demons that threaten to overtake him. At the Armistice Day celebration, during the six-gun salute, her father’s terrifying reaction exposes to the entire town just how deep his wounds from the war go. Desperate to understand what happened to her father, Irene goes searching for his war medals—but discovers a handgun instead! Her father catches her with the gun, and in a terrifying moment of shock and anger, Irene screams at him, “I want my real Daddy back!”
ACT II
Irene’s visit with her father at the sanitarium forces her to face her own crippling guilt, intensified by Daddy’s risky, electroshock therapy. But local trauma boils over at Decoration Day when war-grieving widows fiercely verbally assault Irene and Momma—until loyal friends shield them from the mob. Tension skyrockets as the Spring Dance looms, threatening Irene’s tomboy image with a new handmade dress from Momma and a dance request from Raymond!
When Daddy’s treatment fails, Irene’s world shatters. She spirals into a pitch-black depression before exploding in a fit of rage at her mother. Realizing she was wrong to keep things from Irene, Momma gives her a letter Daddy wrote to her during the war. Armed with Daddy’s wartime letter, Irene forces herself to grow up, repair her fractured bond with Cassie, and salvage the baseball championship. Winning the final game triggers a miracle: Daddy is transferred to a hospital program that offers new hope. Irene learns to let go of what she cannot control and cherish the time she has with the people she loves.