Amid wartime brutality and unimaginable suffering, a teenager in flight from the Soviet Army struggles to survive, find her brother—and hold on to hope . . .
Winter 1945. The Red Army has its sights set on punishing Germans for the Nazis’ reign of terror.
Thirteen-year-old Giti and her younger brother, Otto, live with their mother and grandmother. After soldiers arrive and brutally attack the two adult women, killing their grandmother, the farm is set ablaze and the survivors are loaded into a crowded train bound for the Soviet Union.
When further tragedy strikes, the two children are left to fend for themselves. Giti is determined to lead them to freedom, but her escape plan goes horribly wrong. Otto is trapped onboard and left alone heading north.
Wandering into the forest, the traumatized and mute Giti is rescued by a man hiding in the woods. The two strike up an unlikely bond and help each other survive—until Russian soldiers arrive . . .
As Giti fights for her life, she is determined to be reunited with her brother. But how long will she have to wait, and will the reunion be as joyful as she envisaged?
