Rachel was just a child and didn't understand why the war machine in Germany tore her family apart. She didn't know why being Jewish was such a crime. Now alone-except for the soldiers-on a small island far away from home, her life seemed hopeless. Children in despair seldom understand that their situation might change. For Rachel, it did so with such drama that the summer of 1941 would define the rest of her life: she met Tom. Amidst the turmoil, Rachel and her young hero looked for a way to escape the deadly threats of war and hoped to form a life together. They couldn't know that in the closing dark days before Rachel's mother had been forced away, she would have created a legacy for her daughter-a legacy that might come to destroy her.