When a young woman at age 23 fulfills her childhood dream of traveling the world, she is catapulted from a naïve background of racial segregation, bigotry and innocence into a world of adventure. Johnson applied for an overseas clerical position in the U.S. Foreign Service branch of the U.S. State Department and after training in Washington D.C. assigned to the Embassy in Paris as a code clerk. . Bettye Johnson's story of her transition into a sophisticated young woman gives a rare glimpse of what Paris was like in 1952 when she arrived. Trained as a code clerk, Bettye worked rotating work shifts and was privy to the events occurring seven years after the end of World War II.

Interweaving letters she had written to her family with remembrances she now has, Johnson's memoir creates a fascinating glimpse of Paris and Europe during her tenure there. Her stories of living in a city that had not quite recovered from the occupation of the Germans and the influx of Allied military personnel give a history that is not written in many books or articles. By working shifts, the author was able to explore Paris during the day and after the evening shifts explore the nightlife of Paris.