The World at Home

Moyer (A Golden Life) delivers an affecting tale of an orphan seeking fulfilment and love in 1944 San Francisco. Irene Mary Cleary, 20, runs the seamstress shop she inherited from Anna Orlova, with whom she apprenticed after leaving the Catholic orphanage where she was raised. After Irene jumps at the chance to alter a dress for wealthy socialite Cynthia Burke, she’s charmed by Cynthia’s down-to-earth husband, Max, who turns out to be the first man she’s attracted to since her last relationship ended in heartache. Irene agrees to hem Max’s tuxedo pants, and he eventually asks her to help him with decorating a new nightclub he is opening. Max and Irene bond over feeling like outsiders, especially when he shares how he doesn’t belong in Cynthia’s well-heeled world, and the pair begin an affair. Irene doesn’t think Max will leave Cynthia for her, but she quietly holds out hope that the Burkes will divorce so she can be with him. Moyer expertly weaves in flashbacks to Irene’s hardscrabble time in the orphanage, her excitement at USO dances, and poignant details of what happened with Johnny. It adds up to an evocative picture of life during wartime. (Dec.)