James Edwards was born in the post construction era, 14 years after the Panama Canalwas built. In the book we see him as he goes through different stages of lifein a town that also changes with events and time. We follow him as hetransitions from childhood to adolescence to adulthood and we get to experiencethe personal challenges, setbacks, and, as a young adult, the consequence of achoice he makes due to circumstances at the time. His life is affected, and, inmany ways, shaped by that choice; and though it cleared a pathway for him, nevertheless, it caused him to pay a very high price. He goes on to achievematerial success abroad and joins with other expatriates in noble causes tohonor and celebrate the sacrifices and contributions of their fathers andmothers, whom the world had forgotten; but, in the end, there lingered with him, still, an emotional and psychological attachment to the past. Not only does heremember the town that is vanished, his forebears, his birthplace, the sites, the favorite places, his childhood companions, the laughter, tears and happyevents, but there is also the memory of a promise unfulfilled. Perhaps, this isbest illustrated by the sight of a solitary rose lying on an empty park benchas the story comes to its end