The Winter Orphans

As war rages through Europe, over one hundred Jewish children hide from the Nazis in an abandoned chateau in the south of France. Based on the incredible true story of two women who risked their lives to save these innocent children, this is a riveting novel about resilience and hope in the face of impossible odds, from the acclaimed author of Courage, My Love.

Vichy, France 1942

Swiss nurse, Rösli Näf, is the director of Chateau de la Hille-the secret colony of refugee children. She has transformed the dilapidated mansion into a loving community protected from the horrors of war. But when the Nazis invade southern France, the children are in grave danger, and Rösli must find a way to save them.

Anne-Marie Piguet is a volunteer at the chateau who was raised in a village in the woods that drape the mountains of Switzerland and France. She knows the children's lives are threatened and employs her knowledge of the countryside to begin planning a secret expedition to Switzerland.

When the chateau is raided one summer night, Rösli and Anne-Marie evacuate as many children as possible, and flee. The journey to safety requires crossing a vast expanse of Nazi-occupied territory, and then hiking over a perilous, heavily-guarded international border. The risks are staggering, but if they make it, the children of the Chateau de la Hille may live to hope for a brighter future.

Story Locale: France, 1942