"At Heim Hochland, a Nazi sanctioned maternity home in Bavaria, three women's fates are irrevocably intertwined. Gundi is a pregnant student from Berlin--an Aryan beauty, she's secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only 18, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official's child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. All three have everything to lose....

Levi, a fox terrier, lives with his family in a grand townhouse in Berlin. Each day he walks through the neighborhood and people greet him by name. But in 1938, Berlin is no longer safe for Levi or the Liliencrons, his Jewish owners. They rename him Sirius to protect him. When Nazi troops storm the city, Sirius alerts the family and they manage to flee to California. In his new home, Carl Liliencron becomes a chauffeur and Sirius -- now named Hercules...

"This never-before-translated masterpiece--by a heroic best-selling writer who saw his life crumble when he wouldn't join the Nazi Party--is based on a true story. It presents a richly detailed portrait of life in Berlin under the Nazis and tells the sweeping saga of one working-class couple who decides to take a stand when their only son is killed at the front. With nothing but their grief and each other against the awesome power of the Reich, they...