'Tracing the effects of World War II in the intersections of two families - one of German aristocracy, the other Polish Jewry - the author skilfully draws the reader into webs of intrigue, tragedy and the frailties of the human heart set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Europe.
The opening scene is a Warsaw railway station in 1939. A Polish academic of Jewish ancestry sends his young wife and their son to his family in the countryside as he fears for their safety with the German invasion of Poland imminent.
From this point we follow the fortunes of Hela Poznanski as, alone, she fights to protect her son, Olesh, and his identity as a Jew from the German garrison that has detained her as an interpreter. Gradually, the son develops as the main character and we follow him in recovering his lost identity as he finds his natural father in unusual circumstances.' Source: www.newsweekly.com.au (Sighted 09/04/2008)
