Take a first love, make it forbidden, stir in a small Iowa town, a world war, and a passion for music, sprinkle it with deception, heartache, and loss, and let it simmer for decades. August 1944 The day after her seventeenth birthday, Phee Swensson, a gifted pianist, finds herself at Camp Algona, a prisoner of war camp that opened last spring near her hometown. That morning, she meets Sergeant Horst Ebinger, a talented German POW, and the road map of her life’s journey is instantly redrawn. Phee agrees to accompany Sergeant Ebinger’s choir on their concerts in December. At first, she’s wary of spending so much time with “the enemy.” But soon, they find common ground in their shared love of music, and their friendship strengthens. As time passes, Phee realizes her feelings for Horst have moved beyond mere friendship. Horst teaches her to say “Ich liebe dich”— “I love you.” It’s their secret. Can they keep it? Where will it take them? How far will they go? May 1991 Journalist Mollie MacAlister is flying to Berlin, Germany to interview Maestro Horst Ebinger, chief conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. In her briefcase are mementos from her mother’s young life—letters, photos, music, telegrams, an odd-looking necklace, and a teenager’s diaries. Later this week, Mollie will share these items with Maestro Ebinger, after he learns the truth. For her debut novel, Sally Jameson Bond draws on her passions for World War II history, music, and her home state of Iowa to weave an endearing story of forbidden love, lies, and loss.