Prologue: Let's make believe

You there. Imagine seeing Death on a person before they die. Add to that, never telling anyone because you know for sure that you'll be taken away the moment you warn even your only friend. For extra impact, tack on haunting visions of a second "Great War" looming on the horizon, including the death of your grandparents in Nagasaki. Welcome to the world of Dierdre Hall, a half Japanese girl living just over the Golden Gate from San Francisco, who fears that the time will soon come that she must confess her secret and betray herself in order to keep living.