While war rages in Europe, a Kansas family faces battles of its own . In the summer of 1940, as Hitler’s armies destroy Europe, guilt ravages thirteen-year-old Sissy’s heart after her younger brother dies—on her watch. Nothing she does can mend the rift between her and her mother. When an abused and abandoned boy follows Sissy to her farm in rural Kansas, she knows he can’t stay permanently with her broken family, and yet she tries to help him. Her actions stir up fierce controversy in the community and threaten the loss of her family’s farm, driving a deeper wedge between Sissy and her mother. Even though Sissy risks everything to save the boy, her courage can’t heal the hurt and bitterness which blaze hotter than the Kansas summer sun—unless there is forgiveness. But forgiveness is as elusive as victory in Europe. Award-winning author of More Than Grit, Gretchen A. Carlson writes books that appeal to readers who love to root for the underdog and who desire to rise above fear.