As the veil of the dark ages began to lift over Europe, fear and ignorance slowly gave way to compassion and freethinking. For centuries, Europe had been kept under the crushing heel of the most oppressive and bloody organization in mankind’s history, the Holy Roman Church.
The Church countered its loosening grip on society with charges of witchcraft and heresy. The torture and death of thousands would keep the Church’s tight grip over the entire population. The Church saw what you did and heard what you said. There was nowhere to hide from its power.
The country had yet to recover from the ravages of the Thirty Years War, and was now fragmented into Protestant and Catholic principalities. A great schism had been created, both religious and political. Into these chaotic times a child was born whose life and death would change the life of many thousands. She would almost be forgotten by history. Her name was Anna.
Excerpt
His feet felt heavy and did not seem to want to work properly. He nearly stumbled as he tried to take a step toward the door. Johannes’s body had been filled with nervous energy but now felt drained and uncooperative. “Yes, thank you,” he managed to croak. The midwife pushed the door wider and Johannes stepped through. Maria lay on their bed and smiled broadly at her husband, “Come and meet your daughter Anna.”
Ireland 1947. Seven weeks of relentless snow. Guard Eamon Foley is searching for a missing child.
At Toby Appleyard’s farm, he discovers the kitchen littered with dead cats. And the skeletal remains of a woman. Upstairs, Toby is dead in his bed.
A novel about a family during World War II, set on the homefront in Springield, Mass., and in the South Pacific. The book focuses on four characters and how their lives were affected and changed during the war years.
