This novel is the first of a two-book series - book two is Not Too Old to Roam. The Persistent Widow is Lilly's story. Not Too Old to Roam is the Colonel's story. See how differently two people can think but still enjoy a good marriage. They had gone steady in high school. Then he joined the Marines and she departed to take advantage of a scholarship at the University of Florida. The years went by; Lily graduated with honors, then went on to get her Masters', then PhD. At the students' Christmas party held in the Student Union Building, they met again. He was a Gunnery Sergeant and enrolled in a special program to become a Marine officer. Lilly married her newly commissioned lieutenant and that was probably the best day of their marriage. The Marines had made a dedicated killer of her man and, 'live by the gun, die by the gun', he was killed in action in Vietnam. She received the $400,000 insurance - that was what her man was worth to the Marines? Lilly survived doing what she loved: working as a wildlife ecologist and conservationist. The years went by and that $400,000 was gradually shrinking. How Lilly managed to survive, then hunt for and find another husband is a story of dedication, resolve, and self-confidence.