In 1942, as the world is torn apart by World War II, Arun Mehta, a young Indian radio operator serving under the British Indian Army, meets Alex Carter, a British intelligence officer posted in Burma. Amid bombs, secrecy, and the struggle for independence and identity, their forbidden love defies colonial power, social norms, and wartime danger. Their relationship mirrors a battle of its own-between duty and desire, loyalty and love, repression and freedom.

They say Cupid shoots arrows, but in Wyatt Vance's experience, the arrows feel a lot more like a swift left hook to the jaw. Wyatt prefers logic, and keeping his head down. After watching his mother walk out on his family, he's reached a foolproof conclusion: feelings make people stupid, and romance is a battlefield best observed from a safe distance. That is, until he steps in to play matchmaker, determined to orchestrate a perfect, casualty-free love story for his hopelessly pining coworker, Julian Moreno. But playing Cupid is a dangerous game-especially when he catches feelings for the boy he's supposed to be handing off to someone else.

Aiden has spent years perfecting the art of keeping people at a distance. His days are predictable: long walks with his dog Milo, quiet afternoons, and the comfort of routines that never ask too much of him. Keeping his world small is easy. Safe. Then a soccer ball changes everything. Marcus is outgoing, stubbornly friendly, and impossible to ignore. What begins as an accidental encounter in a neighborhood park slowly becomes a series of conversations, shared walks, and a friendship neither of them sees coming. As summer drifts toward autumn, Marcus finds himself drawn to the quiet boy who always seems to have one foot out the door, while Aiden discovers that some people are harder to leave behind than others. But getting close to someone means risking the one thing Aiden fears most: losing them.