Gathering Clouds combines historical reality with psychological drama. Betty Benson illuminates the global events and social mores of this pre-war time through the lives of her characters. They are teachers and students at a Junior College and each carries his or her own struggle with identity and desire. The book opens at the infamous 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, a period before the full Nazi agenda would be known. It takes the reader to the brutal invasion of Poland, the bombings of London, the mosquito infested jungles of Burma and closes with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Most of the psychological intrigue takes place outside of Cleveland, Ohio and in Cape May, New Jersey, where sexual allusion, complete with taboos and frustration, prove more exciting than the sexual explicitness of today. This book shows beautifully the intersection of biography with international decisions and allows the reader a glimpse into how private dilemmas are strongly affected by world politics.