Safiyyah loathes the brutal Nazi occupation of Paris, even though her Muslim identity keeps her safe—or, at least, safer than her Jewish neighbors. Violence lurks in the streets, her best friend has fled, and even her place of refuge—the library—has turned shadowy and confusing, as the invaders fear the power of books.

Safiyyah longs to strike back and hates feeling powerless to help her Jewish friends. Worse yet, her father—who taught her to always fight injustice—is acting strangely and doing nothing to help them either. Or is he?

Unraveling the mystery of her father’s odd behavior draws Safiyyah deep into the heart of the perilous underground resistance to the Nazis, where her bravery is put to the ultimate test.