When the Germans march into their little Polish shtetl at the start of World War II, the Jews of Wlodawa see their lives abruptly torn apart. For Hil and Alexandra it marks the beginning of a struggle to survive during which they will experience ghettos, roundups, hiding places, and false identities, a struggle where the line between life and death will depend on small decisions made along the way.

With the story of the destruction of Polish Jewry as a backdrop, Jeannette Grunhaus de Gelman tells us the remarkable tale of her parents' journey, which will take them from the dark years in a Europe at war to safety and a new life in Venezuela.