All for a Scrap of Paper: A Romance of the Present War

The narrative follows a young Cornish man recently returned from university whose long-unspoken love for a spirited neighbor becomes entangled with a rival officer as the outbreak of a great war transforms their coastal community. Family loyalties and conscience clash when his late father's Quaker pacifism contrasts with local calls to arms, forcing personal choices between duty, honor, and belief. The story traces how wartime mobilization interrupts ordinary life, tests relationships, and compels sacrifice. Through village scenes and intimate dilemmas, it examines love, conviction, and the moral costs of conflict.