This vivid, moving and provocative novel presents a story of a whole society caught up in national turmoil. Told through the experiences of one family, the Shubins, and their city of Leningrad, their story of love and heartbreak is universal. Starting with Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the novel moves both back and forward in time, following three generations of the Shubins as they face the horrors of war, political upheaval, imprisonment and famine. Their experiences are harsh, but their spirit remains undaunted and their family ties unbreakable. The legacy of hardship never quite relaxes its grip, but what endures is their humanity.