In the summer of 1948 a handsome, charismatic stranger named Charlie Beale, back from the war in Europe, shows up in the sleepy town of Brownsburg, Virginia. All he has with him are two suitcases: one contains a fine set of butcher's knives; the other is full of money. Charlie should have turned around and walked back the other way, for what follows - the most passionate and tragic story of a forbidden love affair - will threaten to destroy everything and everyone in its path. Told through the eyes of Sam, a young boy in the town whose world is changed forever by the events of that single year, HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL is a suspenseful masterpiece: a haunting, heart-stopping novel of obsession and love.