Olive Payne Smith is from a rural community in South Central Virginia; Jean Obatala is from a village in the country of Cote d'Ivoire. The young idealists meet in France where they fall in love. Ironically, after returning to their home countries, their common experiences of freedom don't help them to live freely.
Jill Winkowski has a B.A. in English and German from Mary Washington College and a M.Ed. from the University of Maryland. She is a freelance journalist and technical writer by day.