1939 in Poland ,Young Macieks comfortable childhood is ripped apart by WWII .He & his aunt,Tania, hide their Jewish heritage by passing as Polish Catholics.They witnessed friends rounded up, towns bombed , brutality by soldiers ,the SS, & other citizens.Begley writes of children who lose their childhood,people who lose everything, but feel blessed to have survived.Beautiful passages about his grandparents farm, all to be swept away by the war.