Ruth survived the Holocaust and the long journey to Palestine. Now she finds herself once again in a war zone as Israel battles for its existence. Her brother is on the front lines. Ruth and her boyfriend are injured and cannot fight, so they care for children in a hospital. Ruth tells the children stories to distract them and help them make sense of their situation. As she recovers, she too must return to the fight.

A trauma forces her back to another time when she told stories: to her fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. We discover what Ruth went through in the camps, the horrors she saw, the friends she made and lost. Through it all Ruth comes to understand that she must find a new way to live, a way that does not give up on hope. (From Scholastic Canada)

Carol Matas is a Winnipeg writer. She is particularly noted for her books about World War II and the Holocaust, such as Lisa, winner of The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Readers, Jesper Daniel's Story, shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and winner of the Silver Birch Award, and After the War, winner of the Jewish Book Award.