Magdalena ('Leni') is an illegitimate child born in pre-World War II Germany in a small town steeped in superstition. Spurned by her Catholic grandfather, Leni and her mother live in poverty in a country sliding towards war. At school Leni joins the Hitler Youth, leaving at 14 to work to support her family. A sadistic employer forces her to submit to secret systematic rape or face having her mother interned.<br/><br/>Fleeing the advance of the Red Army, Leni and her family survive on their wits, and she is transformed from a meek, cowed girl to protector. In the post-war chaos she falls pregnant to her Yugoslav boyfriend, marrying him in a bid to avoid the hardship that blighted her childhood. The little family migrates to Australia, crossing the war-torn continent, enduring appalling conditions in Bagnoli Refugee Transit Camp and finally facing the enormous task of beginning a new life in an alien land.<br/><br/>Researching her mother's life after the death of both parents, Leni's daughter Annette makes a startling discovery. With her dying breath, Leni's confidante reveals another secret. A complex search that crosses three continents follows as Annette gradually unravels the web of intrigue that protects her mother's ultimate secret