Crossing the Line

In the dark heart of the Krakow Jewish ghetto, three women--each a world apart--are drawn together by an unthinkable twist of fate. The women must navigate a deadly game of survival, risking everything to outsmart the Nazis and save countless lives. Perfect for readers of Pam Jenoff, Kristin Hannah, Joseph Kanon, and Alan Furst.

In the Podgórze district of Krakow sits the Under the Eagle Pharmacy, a family-run business that has long served Jews and Poles alike. Since Poland’s occupation by German forces, Irena, a pharmacist, has watched and worried as the store’s access to medications is reduced to a trickle. But now come rumors that there is more to fear than dwindling supplies.

A Jewish ghetto is under construction in Krakow, and Under the Eagle lies within its limits. Choosing to stay rather than move to the city’s ＂Aryan＂ section, the pharmacy workers offer what medicine, food, and help they can to a population crammed into ever more desperate conditions. Among the ghetto’s new residents is Natalia, once a medical student from a wealthy Jewish family. Securing a job at the pharmacy offers her a chance to do the work she has dreamed of and affords her loved ones some protection from the threat of relocation. Yet here, there can be no such thing as real safety.

For Elsa, a young German woman, recruitment to the SS was the only way to avoid jail after a deep betrayal. Assigned to the ghetto, confronted with the casual cruelty and violence of her commanders, she feels her convictions about the Fatherland crumbling. As restrictions and penalties grow worse each day, Irena, Natalia, and Elsa are drawn toward unexpected alliances--and decisions that could save or jeopardize not just their own lives, but the lives of countless others.

James D. Shipman is the bestselling author of historical fiction, including the acclaimed novels Irena’s War, Beyond the Wire, Task Force Baum, and Before the Storm. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, he began publishing short stories and poems while earning a degree in history from the University of Washington and a law degree from Gonzaga University. Now a practicing attorney, he lives with his family in Washington State. Please visit him online at James-Shipman.com.