Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em has survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother's wishes --- in a place where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat.

In 1943, a British spy plane crashes in Nazi France, leaving the passenger “Verity” to be captured by the Gestapo and her best friend, Maddie, behind. When Verity’s captors tell her to confess or be executed, she writes her confession page by page --- uncovering her past, how she became friends with Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wreck, desperately hoping to make it home.