In Germany engulfed by war and hatred, the  beautiful wife of an influential banker fell in love  with a German author. His Jewish heritage led them  both to death. The husband who survives her lives on  to protect her memory, and their children. And the  ring he passes on to his daughter, Ariana von  Gotthard, remains a bond of love between them.  Separated from her family, and unable to escape Germany,  Ariana is finally arrested. A young Nazi officer  offers her survival and hope for the future.  Tragedy and a sudden twist of fate carries Ariana to  America, to a chilling deception, and a new life of  unfamiliar terrors. Her past seemingly lost  forever, her future uncertain, the ring she still clings  to is all she has left of her father and brother.  And in time it will become the bridge from her  past to her future.From the Paperback edition.