Esfir Manevich is a young Jewish girl who lives in the Polish town ofKobrin in 1936. Facing anti-Semitism in public school, Esfir moves in withher charming aunt who runs a boardinghouse in the bustling city of Brest.Being younger than the other boarders, Esfir struggles to find a place inher new life, all the while worrying about her diminishing role in the familyshe left behind.As the years pass, Esfir experiences the bombing of her hometown duringthe German invasion of 1939. When the Russians overtake the area, Esfirsees many of her socialist relatives and friends become disillusionedby the harsh restrictions. During the German occupation, Esfir and herfamily are enclosed in a ghetto where they develop heartbreaking methodsof survival. In the summer of 1942, shortly before Esfir's thirteenth birthday,the ghetto is liquidated and the inhabitants are forced onto cattlecars destined for the killing fields and Esfir must face unimaginablehorror.
