IN THE immensely popular tradition of

Officers Wives, here is a consistently compel-

.ling novel of four remarkable women, part

of the original group of W AAC officer caudi-

dates in 1942, and the bond of sisterhood they

forged during the rigors of training--of becom-

ing women soldiers a bond that would endure

for the re.st of their lives. They come from very

different worlds and find very different men and

different destinies:

Page Hannaday, army brat and general s

daughter, discovers that she, not her brother, is

the true career officer in the family and proceeds

to defy her father and jeopardize the love of a

fellow officer to prove that she indeed lOS.ins.ms

"the right stuff";

Jill Hammersmith,the tiny, infinitely vulner-

able perfectionist from a wealthy California fam-

ily, grows to real stature, wins the Bronze Star,

and struggles to give up the ghost of a past guilt

and find passionate love with her commanding

officer, Desmond Stratton;

Bunny Palermo, from the wrong side of the

tracks, twice married to "Mr. Wrong" and an

absolute pushover for pas.sion, must choose either