"Deep in the Polish forest stands the chimney tree, a tree trunk hollowed out by lightning. This is where the beautiful Breindel Rutner, a young Jewish woman, loses her innocence and her first love. After her rabbi father finds out she has been secretly meeting a Christian, he forces her to marry a stranger. When she realizes that her new husband has messianic delusions, she flees to Warsaw. Just as she finds the life and love she desires, however, World War II tears apart her idyllic life.

She must face the bombing of Warsaw, the Russian occupation of Eastern Poland, and Nazi torture. Refusing to be a victim of circumstance, the strong, independent Breindel must time and again take charge of her own fate.".

"Helmreich's novel takes the reader through Breindel's many desperate escapes from the people and forces that try to break her. Throughout this ordeal we see Breindel transformed from a bright-eyed, romantic teenager dreaming of a fairy-tale life into a courageous woman determined to triumph over the terrors she comes to know all too well. Often she must rely on others - some who save her, some who betray her - in her struggle to keep herself and her family safe.

Weaving Breindel into and out of lives across Poland, Helmreich exposes how World War II permanently changed the values, outlook and direction taken by those who were caught up in it."--BOOK JACKET.