However, Caspary's conscience would not let her simply abandon causes. She continued to sign petitions, contributed money, wrote to congressmen and maintained her memberships in the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and the League of American Writers. She also taught classes in writing screenplays to raise funds to bring refugee writers to America. In June 1941, Germany attacked Russia, and Hollywood benefits for Russian war relief drew huge crowds. During this time Caspary started tinkering with a murder mystery, but instead of producing an original story for the screen she was encouraged to turn it into a novel. It was finished by October, and to get some perspective she went to work on a story about a night plane to Chungking for Paramount Studios. When the United States declared war on Germany and Japan in early December, that story was canceled, and Caspary asked to be laid off and returned happily to her murder mystery. During Christmas 1941, she typed "The end" on the last page of "Laura".