*The Big Secret:*
Henry's secret - which explains everything - is that *he is gay*. In 1944 North Carolina, he cannot live openly. He has a longtime male lover. He married Tess to hide his true identity and to have a cover family because his family expects him to produce an heir for the factory. That's why he doesn't touch her and hides money to support his lover.
*The Polio Epidemic:*
Then in *summer 1944, polio strikes Hickory* - one of the worst outbreaks in American history, hitting children.
The townspeople do something extraordinary that really happened: they band together and *build a complete polio hospital - the Hickory Emergency Infantile Paralysis Hospital - in less than 3 days* (54 hours). In tents and barracks.
Tess, defying Henry, volunteers as a nurse. For the first time since moving, she finds purpose, independence, and respect - nursing the children, including a boy connected to the Kraft family.
