If I were to rewrite the back-cover copy, it would say this:

Marta Nederman, a survivor of the Nazi prison camps, is finally free and ready to start her new life free of the loss the war brought. She's already met new and trusted friends at the refugee camp, and a young man she could fall in love with. But her hopes are shattered when her new friend dies of her injuries from the concentration camps, and she's thrown into a solo journey across the continent to deliver the news to her next of kin under a false identity and expiring visa. She never would have guessed that such a journey would be filled with more loss, lies, and danger than she had anticipated encountering after the war.

Tada? If that interests you, I think you should read the book. Be aware though that my shoddy description leaves out a two-year time gap that splits the plot into two.

I think what frustrated me the most about this story is that the inciting incident promised on the back cover copy is not the inciting incident that we get in the book. Or maybe it is—but if that's the case then the story doesn't start until about 45% of the way into the book. Based on logical story progression, the inciting incident presenting at the beginning of the story was when

Spoiler

Rose died

. I was relatively captured by the first half of the book but that interest was marred by my understanding that the story hadn't truly begun yet. In truth, this story felt like two novellas, the second of which I both enjoyed more and found more unbelievable. There was one scene in particular that irked me. A character had been shot and jumped into the freezing waters of the north sea to catch the boat. They were bleeding out below deck and apparently had a fever that couldn't be quelled.
Um...EXCUSE me....did we forget he was probably more HYPOTHERMIC than feverish!? Apparently so, because the book failed to address the character's icy sodden clothes for the rest of the scene. In fact...days past and the fever was the only concern.
It was little details like these that got under my skin.

There was a pretty interesting espionage thread that I appreciated though. I also enjoyed the fact that the novel took place after the war as it felt fresher and more unique than many historical novels out there. I enjoyed the romance thread as unbelievable as it may have been to some—it balanced the spying stuff pretty well and added a layer of complexity to the overall story.

I don't think I'll read the prequel but I don't regret this read. If you like historical romances mixed with some danger, I would recommend the book. Happy reading!