Thirteen-year-old Gabriella Schramm's favorite pastime is reading. With Adolf Hitler slowly but unstoppably rising to power, Gaby turns to her books for comfort while the world around her changes dramatically: The streets become filled with soldiers, Gaby's sister's boyfriend raises his arm in a heil Hitler salute, and the Schramms' family friend Albert Einstein flees the country. When Gaby's beloved books come under attack, she fears she may have to leave behind the fiction - and the life - she has always cherished.