Eugenia

Eugenia is a novel of love, conscience, and community set in 1970s San Francisco.

The war is winding down, but its aftermath is everywhere.

In 1971, Brian O'Malley arrives in San Francisco to complete his alternative service as a conscientious objector. Assigned to a struggling neighborhood community center known simply as the House, he expects quiet work and clear boundaries. Instead, he finds a fragile institution held together by idealism, improvisation, and people who disagree about nearly everything.

The House is a world unto itself: a volatile staff, a crew of street-savvy boys, political tensions simmering just below the surface, and constant pressure from forces that would rather see the place fail. As Brian is drawn deeper into the daily chaos of keeping the House alive, he begins to understand that service is rarely simple, and leadership rarely clean.

At the center of it all is Eugenia, the House's sharp-witted and fiercely capable secretary. Their connection is immediate, complicated, and quietly forbidden. What begins as cautious attraction grows into a secret romance that threatens not only their positions, but the delicate balance holding the House together.

As Brian navigates bureaucratic sabotage, loyalty to those he serves, and the moral gray zones of resistance and responsibility, he is forced to confront a harder question than whether he opposed the war. He must decide what it costs to live by his convictions, and what it costs to love someone when the rules say he should not.

Eugenia is a coming-of-age story shaped by the moral aftershocks of the Vietnam era. It is a portrait of a city in transition, the messy work of building community, and a love that leaves its mark long after it ends.