Books like 'Checkmate'
Readers who enjoyed Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance action / adventure mystery 20th century europe western-central-europe france urban england
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The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsIn 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz... -
![The Letter by Ruth Saberton]()
The Letter by Ruth Saberton
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Letter is a beautiful novel set in England between the First World War and the present day. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, it is the story of an aristocratic family, a forbidden love affair and the darkest of secrets kept for over one hundred years. On the eve of the First World War aspiring poet Kit Rivers looks forward to a bright future... -
![The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel]()
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsInspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this unforgettable historical novel from the bestselling author of the “epic and heart-wrenching World War II tale” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noel), The Winemaker’s Wife... -
![Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett]()
Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPawn in Frankincense is the fourth in the legendary Lymond Chronicles. Somewhere within the bejeweled labyrinth of the Ottoman empire, a child is hidden. Now his father, Francis Crawford of Lymond, soldier of fortune and the exiled heir of Scottish nobility, is searching for him while ostensibly engaged on a mission to the Turkish Sultan... -
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![The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett]()
The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe third volume in The Lymond Chronicles, the highly renowned series of historical novels by Dorothy Dunnett, Disorderly Knights takes place in 1551, when Francis Crawford of Lymond is dispatched to embattled Malta, to assist the Knights of Hospitallers in defending the island against the Turks... -
![The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett]()
The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFor the first time Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles are available in the United States in quality paperback editions.Fifth in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, The Ringed Castle leaps from Mary Tudor's England to the barbaric Russia of Ivan the Terrible. Francis Crawford of Lymond moves to Muscovy, where he becomes advisor and general to the half-mad tsar... -
![On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White]()
On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAll of England thinks Phillip Camden a monster--a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But as nurse Arabelle Denler watches the so-dubbed "Black Heart" every day, she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their paths twist together and he declares himself her new protector, she realizes she has her own role to play in his healing...Categorized as:
england europe historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon]()
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 73 ratingsIn this breathtaking novel, rich in history and adventure, #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon continues the story of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser that started with the now-classic novel Outlander and continued in Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager. Once again spanning continents and centuries, Gabaldon has created a work of sheer brilliance...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon]()
Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTold in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name... -
![The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White]()
The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network—field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack every German telegram. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages... -
![The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn]()
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Physician by Noah Gordon]()
The Physician by Noah Gordon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsIn the 11th century, Rob Cole left poor, disease-ridden London to make his way across the land, hustling, juggling, peddling cures to the sick—and discovering the mystical ways of healing. It was on his travels that he found his own very real gift for healing—a gift that urged him on to become a doctor...Categorized as:
classics england europe historical-fiction literary-fiction medieval urban 20th-century -
![Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon]()
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsAn alternate cover edition can be found here.From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills...Categorized as:
europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon]()
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 57 ratingsIn an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time... -
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![The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman]()
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsA glorious novel of the controversial Richard III - a monarch betrayed in life by his allies and betrayed in death by history...Categorized as:
classics england europe historical-fiction literary-fiction medieval politics 20th-century -
![Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett]()
Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSecond in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Queens' Play follows Francis Crawford of Lymond who has been abruptly called into the service of Mary Queen of Scots. Though she is only a little girl, the Queen is already the object of malicious intrigues that extend from her native country to the court of France...Categorized as:
classics early-modern england europe france historical-fiction literary-fiction medieval -
![A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White]()
A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsZivon Marin was one of Russia's top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee after speaking out against Lenin and separated from his brother along the way, he arrives in England driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits...Categorized as:
england europe historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly]()
The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAnother strong, satisfying novel, full of rich storytelling, by the author of the favourite THE TEA ROSE.An epic tale of secret love and hidden passions. It is 1900 and the dangerous streets of East London are no place for a well-bred woman. But India Selwyn Jones is headstrong: she has trained as one of a new breed, a woman doctor, and is determined to practice where the need is greatest...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book crime -
![The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys]()
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
![Outlander by Diana Gabaldon]()
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 91 ratingsThe year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743...Categorized as:
classics europe historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book british-isles -
![The Riviera House by Natasha Lester]()
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Secret weaves a lush and engrossing novel of World War II inspired by a true story and perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Pam Jenoff. Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book drama -
![Bluebird by Sharon Cameron]()
Bluebird by Sharon Cameron
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA historical novel, set in postwar New York City.In 1946, Eva leaves behind the rubble of Berlin for the streets of New York City, stepping from the fiery aftermath of one war into another, far colder one, where power is more important than principles, and lies are more plentiful than the truth...Categorized as:
urban historical-fiction literary-fiction new-york-state romance young-adult historical fiction -
![The Promise by Michelle Vernal]()
The Promise by Michelle Vernal
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA wonderfully heartwarming, touching and romantic story - Tammy Robinson Author of Differently Normal Two women from different generations brought together by another’s wrongdoing. When British backpacker, Isabel Stark happens across a car accident on a lonely stretch of road in the South Island of New Zealand her life changes forever...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction romance historical 20th-century fiction mystery ww2 -
![The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows]()
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 87 ratingsA remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.“Treat yourself to this book, please - I can’t recommend it highly enough.” (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love)“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers... -
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![Charlock's Secret by Leah Moyes]()
Charlock's Secret by Leah Moyes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDesperate to hide, Kat flees. Trapped in time, her survival and return are threatened by her tortured heart.Ensnared by hopelessness and grief, 24-year-old Kat Shelton, accepts a position as the curator of an old English estate with the sole purpose of running away from her memories and to bury life’s pain...Categorized as:
england europe historical-fiction 19th-century 20th-century action-adventure book british-isles -
![Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman]()
Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales...Categorized as:
classics europe historical-fiction literary-fiction medieval politics 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden]()
The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLuke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, D.C. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world...Categorized as:
historical-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book christian -
![Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams]()
Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives comes another riveting novel of the Schuyler sisters—where the epic story of star-crossed lovers in pre-war Europe collides with a woman on the run in the swinging '60s...In the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book drama -
![When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin]()
When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMunich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse... -
![Into the Darkest Day by Kate Hewitt]()
Into the Darkest Day by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe had to step outside and hold the paper up to the moonlight to read it, but when she was able to make out the words, her heart felt as if it would drop right out of her chest. Because the message was in German.1944, London:When Lily meets enigmatic GI Matthew in war-torn London, she doesn’t expect to fall in love... -
![When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman]()
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA.D. 1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and bitter struggle, all of England bled and burned... -
![On the Wings of Hope by Ella Zeiss, Helen MacCormac]()
On the Wings of Hope by Ella Zeiss, Helen MacCormac
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs World War II draws to a close, can two young people find love, hope—and freedom?February 1942: Terrifying reports of the Wehrmacht’s advance across the Soviet Union spread like wildfire, striking new fear into the already oppressed German families living there.Harri Pfeiffer, now sixteen, is summoned to the forced labour camp in Chelyabinsk...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult book drama -
![Whitsunday Dawn by Annie Seaton]()
Whitsunday Dawn by Annie Seaton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWith the pristine beauty of the Whitsundays under threat, can they expose the truth in time? Australian author Annie Seaton brings to life a new area of romance — Eco-Adventure. Perfect for fans of Di Morrissey. When Olivia Sheridan arrives in the Whitsundays as spokesperson for big mining company Sheridan Corp, it should be a straightforward presentation to the town about their proposed project... -
![The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye]()
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsA magnificent romantic/historical/adventure novel set in India at the time of mutiny. The Far Pavilions is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about and English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult asia -
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![The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham]()
The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe highly awaited new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The German Midwife.Venice, 1943The world is at war, and Stella Jilani is leading a double life. By day she works in the lion’s den as a typist for the Reich; by night, she risks her life as a messenger for the Italian resistance...Categorized as:
england europe historical-fiction literary-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton]()
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsA lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever... -
![Niccolò Rising by Dorothy Dunnett]()
Niccolò Rising by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWith the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction medieval politics scoundrel 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel]()
The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, this powerful novel of fate, resistance, and family—by the international bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting and When We Meet Again—tells the tale of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish teenager whose lives intersect in occupied Paris during the tumultuous days of World War II... -
![Arabian Winds by Linda Lee Chaikin]()
Arabian Winds by Linda Lee Chaikin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAs World War I breaks upon the deserts of Arabia in 1917, Allison Wescott, a young nurse, arrives in British Cairo, torn between her love for a handsome officer and her feelings for a minister working in Oswald Chambers's Zeitoun camp...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult book christian espionage -
![The Fragile Hour by Rosalind Laker]()
The Fragile Hour by Rosalind Laker
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter successfully bridging 40, Anna is shattered by a paragraph in a newspaper. Leaving for Bergen, she spectates at the raising of a wartime aircraft from a lake - the pilot of which had subsequently effected her life with passion and destruction - and faces what happened when she was a spy...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction scandinavia norway romance fiction mystery -
![The Footman by A. O'Connor]()
The Footman by A. O'Connor
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the country mansions of 1930s Ireland, to the decadence of 1940s wartime Paris to the courtrooms of London in modern times.What the Footman saw . . .In 1930s Ireland, Joe Grady becomes the footman at the stately home Cliffenden, owned by the glamorous Fullerton family...Categorized as:
europe urban france historical-fiction classics literary-fiction british-isles ireland -
![A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux]()
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsan alternate cover editions can be found here and hereNew York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux will capture your heart with signature classic novel, a time-travel romance featuring a present-day heroine and a dashing hero from the sixteenth century!Abandoned by a cruel fate, lovely Dougless Montgomery lies weeping upon a cold tombstone in an English church...Categorized as:
early-modern historical-fiction medieval 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson]()
Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the award-winning author of Catching the Wind, which Publishers Weekly called “unforgettable” and a “must-read,” comes another gripping time-slip novel about hidden treasure, a castle, and ordinary people who resisted evil in their own extraordinary way... -
![Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin]()
Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the Nazis march toward Paris, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. The Germans make it difficult for her to keep Green Leaf Books afloat. And she must keep the store open if she is to continue aiding the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books...Categorized as:
europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe 20th-century action-adventure adult -
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![Q by Luther Blissett, Wu Ming]()
Q by Luther Blissett, Wu Ming
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn 1517, Martin Luther nails his ninety-five theses demanding reform of the Catholic Church to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, setting off a period of upheaval, war, civil war and violence we now know as the Reformation.In this age devastated by wars of religion, a young theology student adopts the cause of the heretics and the disinherited... -
![The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White]()
The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBrook Eden has never known where she truly belongs. When her friend Justin uncovers the fact that she is possibly a missing heiress from Yorkshire, Brook leaves the sun of the Mediterranean to travel to the moors of the North Sea and the estate of her supposed family...Categorized as:
england europe historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book british-isles -
![Jubal Sackett: The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour]()
Jubal Sackett: The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Jubal Sackett, the second generation of Louis L’Amour’s great American family pursues a destiny in the wilderness of a sprawling new land. Jubal Sackett’s urge to explore drove him westward, and when a Natchez priest asks him to undertake a nearly impossible quest, Sackett ventures into the endless grassy plains the Indians call the Far Seeing Lands...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book family -
![The Daybreakers by Louis L'Amour]()
The Daybreakers by Louis L'Amour
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOrrin Sackett had to be pushed into a fight. But Tyrel Sackett was born to trouble. The night Tye stepped between his brother and a bullet changed them both forever. Now their trail pointed west, to a lawless frontier town called Sante Fe. Orrin took the job of marshal, while Tye commanded respect without a badge...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book fiction -
![The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards]()
The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA captivating story of estranged sisters reunited by a devastating war and the race to save their mother’s lifeParis, 1944Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smoke screen. An unwilling darling to the Nazis, the chanteuse’s position of privilege also has its advantages—such as going undetected as an ally to undercover British officer Captain Max Ryan as part of the resistance... -
![White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey]()
White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn the shadows of World War II, trust becomes the greatest risk of all for two strangers.December 1943. In the years before the rise of Hitler, the Gerber family’s summer cottage was filled with laughter. Now, as deep drifts of snow blanket the Black Forest, German dissenter Franka Gerber is alone and hopeless...
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