1945. Dead of night and dead of winter; war brings a stranger to the door; a family is tricked into a act of compassion and danger.SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2026FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE DARK ROOM AND A BOY IN WINTER'A complex, intelligent, deeply compassionate novel about the unglamorous aftermath of war . . . A brilliant piece of story-telling' ANDREW MILLER, author of THE LAND IN WINTER'This fine novel investigates the fate of displaced people in the hazardous, dirty backwash of the second world war' GUARDIAN'Marvellous . . . a wide-ranging novel that beautifully balances the tumultuous reach of history with the everyday concerns of ordinary people' DAILY MAIL'Powerful . . . Seiffert's writing beautifully captures this devastating moment of history' SPECTATORTo be truly alive means having to make choices. To be truly alive is also, quite simply, to love.Northern Germany, 1945. Dead of night and dead of winter, a boy hears sol
