I really loved the setting for this story. While I have read many books about World War II I haven’t read many if any set in Poland focusing on the Polish/Ukrainian/Soviet struggles. I liked the two main characters, but there were times I felt the story moved a little slower than it needed to. I also felt like the ending was very abrupt. Maria is on her way home after 2.5 years in forced labor and she’s going to learn so much has changed. When she was taken she told her parents she would be home and she is determined to keep this promise. The other voice of the story is Kostya who was a runner in the Ukrainian militia until things went poorly and he went on the run also trying to go home. The two of them meet and don’t understand just how much they’re on opposing sides. I listened to the audio book of this and the narrator was was great with Maria and not quite as great with Kostya’s voice.