Independent-minded Sibylla Spencer feels trapped in nineteenth-century London, where her strong will and progressive views have rendered her unmarriageable. Still single at twenty-three, she is treated like a child and feels stifled in her controlling father's house.

When Benjamin Hopkins, an ambitious employee of her father's trading company, shows an interest in her, she realizes marriage is her only chance to escape. As Benjamin's rising career whisks them both away to exotic Morocco, Sibylla is at last a citizen of the world, reveling in her newfound freedom by striking her first business deals, befriending locals…and falling in love for the first time with a charismatic and handsome Frenchman.

But Benjamin's lust for money and influence draws him into dark dealings, pulling him ever further from Sibylla and their two young sons. When he's arrested on horrible charges, the fate of Sibylla's family rests on her shoulders, as she must decide whether she'll leave him to his fate or help him fight for his life.

From the bestselling author of The Lioness of Morocco and The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter, the story of an ambitious young woman discovering friendship, love, and her own identity on the eve of World War I.

Christmas 1889. A baby is born in the early hours at Vienna General Hospital, only to be abandoned by her unwed mother and entrusted to a foundling home and its loving caretaker.

Fanny Schindler grows from a precocious girl into a strong-willed young woman. Undeterred by the rules of her station, she’s determined to rise above her humble origins and pursue her dreams at all costs, becoming an apprentice to one of the most glamorous fashion houses in Austria-Hungary. All the while, as Fanny searches for a sense of belonging, her path crosses with those of three people who will change her future. To one, she is a cherished friend. To another, a confidant. And to a handsome career soldier, something more.

When hostilities in Europe burst into flame as a brutal world war, the future of the dual monarchy is at stake, friendships are strained, loyalties are tested, and everything is at risk. And when long-buried secrets about Fanny’s past come to light, she must decide what truly matters—and what is worth fighting for in a new world of infinite possibilities.

From the bestselling author of The Lioness of Morocco comes the beguiling novel of a young woman trapped between the expectations of her family and the desire to live free.

Ceylon, 1803. In the royal city of Kandy, a daughter is born to the king’s elephant keeper—an esteemed position in the court reserved only for males. To ensure the line of succession, Phera’s parents raise her as a boy.

As she bonds with her elephant companion, Siddhi, Phera grows into a confident, fiercely independent woman torn between the expectations of her family and her desire to live life on her own terms. Only when British colonists invade is she allowed to live her true identity, but when the conquerors commit unspeakable violence against her people, Phera must add survival to the list of freedoms for which she’s willing to fight.

Possessed by thoughts of revenge yet drawn into an unexpected romance with a kindly British physician, the elephant keeper’s daughter faces a choice: Love or hatred? Forgiveness or retribution?

Winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2021 in Germany.

Ein Familienschicksal in den Wirren des Zweiten Weltkriegs

Thorn in Westpreußen im Januar 1945: Viel zu spät erhalten die Menschen die Erlaubnis, sich vor der unaufhaltsam heranrückenden Roten Armee in Sicherheit zu bringen. Auch Gisela Lentz macht sich mit ihren Schwiegereltern und vier Kindern Hals über Kopf auf den Weg. Sie wollen nach Gotenhafen, denn von dort sollen Schiffe die Menschen in den Westen des Reiches bringen. Es gelingt ihr, Plätze auf der Wilhelm Gustloff zu bekommen – dem Schiff der Hoffnung für Tausende.

Doch dann trifft Gisela im Chaos der schwer umkämpften Stadt eine Entscheidung mit unwiederbringlichen Folgen für das weitere Schicksal ihrer Familie.

Viele Jahre später wird der damals siebenjährige Henri von den Ereignissen eingeholt. Zum ersten Mal erzählt er seine Geschichte - die einer verzweifelten Flucht im bitterkalten Winter 1945.

Ein aufrüttelnder und herzergreifender Roman über menschlichen Mut und Entschlossenheit im Angesicht von Not und Verzweiflung. Dramatisch, berührend und hochspannend.