First published 2016
Jan awakens in the rubble of his Polish village with no memory of who he is. His only clue to his identity is a damaged photograph showing a man and woman, with a child's image torn away. The year is 1944, and as one of Poland's Devil's Rebels, he has fought to defend his homeland until an injury wiped his past clean. Now German forces retreat westward while Soviet troops advance, leaving him caught between two deadly armies. When a mysterious woman tells him about a refugee train departing for American positions near the border, Jan sees his chance for escape. But a fellow Pole betrays him to SS officers who want him dead before they withdraw. As Jan searches desperately for the family he cannot remember, he encounters two children who will die without his intervention. Time runs short as the train prepares to leave. Jan must choose between his own salvation and risking everything for strangers who need him to survive.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amnesia, found-family
Setting: Poland, America
Period: 1944
192 pages · Hardcover · Shadow Mountain
Content warnings: war