As the storm clouds gather

Anti-German sentiment at the beginning of WWI leads Ilse Stahl and her family to flee New York. They sail to England on the ill-fated Lusitania, with only Ilse surviving. Arriving in England with nothing, she eventually becomes an ambulance driver on the Western Front. Roland Hawkins, also from New York, hates all Germans and, since the U.S. remains neutral, lies so that he can enlist in the British Army. But his desire to kill Germans is quickly tempered by the horrific reality of the frontline trenches. After being seriously injured himself, Roland meets Ilse and reconsiders his anti-German sentiments while also contemplating the futility and inhumanity of war. As the story traces the fates of Ilse and Roland, it paints a graphic, bleak picture of war and its effects while also reflecting on the power of love, loyalty, and family. Though the book ends with a sense of calm contentment, the scars of war will never leave Ilse, Roland, or those who fought. A poignant, riveting tale that will enthrall readers from the first page to the last.