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.