Born to enormous wealth and social standing, Barbara Lavette leaves her sumptuous home on San Francisco's Nob Hill to lead a life of adventure that takes her from the depression to the darkest days of World War II.Troubled by the conflicts of her dual inheritance and scornful of her mother's social world, Barbara sets out to build her own life in her own way, leading her to a Europe on the brink of Nazi terror. Along the way she falls deeply in love with a man of ardent passions and loyalties who risks his life to preserve the memories of the Jews who died in the concentration camps. How they survive a heartless tragedy set on destroying them is the surprise conclusion of this relentless, page turning novel.