Publisher's Synopsis
With war looming dangerously close, Ilse's school days soon turn to lessons of survival. In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive. As battle lines are drawn and East Prussia's borders vanish beneath them, they leave their farm and all they know behind for an uncertain future. But Ilse also has Janusz, her family's young Polish laborer, by her side. As they flee from the Soviet army, his enchanting folktales keep her mind off the cold, the hunger, and the horrors unfolding around them. He tells her of a besieged kingdom in the Baltic Sea from which spill the amber tears of a heartbroken queen. Neither of them realises his stories will prove crucial and prophetic. Not far away, trying and failing to flee from a vengeful army, Arno and his mother hide in the ruins of a Knigsberg mansion, hoping that once the war ends they can reunite their dispersed family.
