Warsaw, 1939. Merie watches as the flames of war engulf the place she and her husband once called home. As bombs fall and the sound of gunfire fills the once-peaceful streets, Rafal urges his wife to flee with him to Russia. But Merie’s thoughts are on her patients. A pediatric nurse at the city’s only Jewish hospital, Merie dutifully tends to Warsaw’s injured and orphaned children.

When the occupation of Warsaw is complete, the plans the Nazis have for the Jews of the city become clear. Knowing that staying in Warsaw would spell her death, Merie has no choice but to follow her husband east on a long and arduous journey toward the Russian border. But with every step she takes, the war follows close behind.

From a small Jewish orphanage in war-torn Tashkent to the comfortable life of a diplomat’s wife in Moscow, Merie experiences extreme poverty and grief but also unbelievable acts of kindness. With her empathy and resourcefulness as her weapons, she ferociously fights for the lives of Jews wherever she goes, discovering a strength she never knew she had. Though will it be enough for her and her children to not only survive – but heal?