The story is set in France, 1939.

    In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France ... but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans* of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent*.

    When a German captain requisitions* Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger rises all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

    Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious 18-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the passion* of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaetan, a partisan* who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can ... completely. But when he betrays* her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

    With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama* of WWII and presents an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. It tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each going on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom.

    (SD-Agencies)