Ryan’s having nothing to do with it—especially after, quite by accident, the two of them meet the lovely Sofie and her son, Tobias. Even more so when it seems to his young eyes that his dad is already falling for another woman so soon after leaving his much-loved mother.

 A dramatic turn of events happens to them all when they are suddenly thrust through a portal of time while exploring Max’s grandmother’s house. The four of them, along with another, rather odd woman by the name of Lotte, are whisked back in time to an earlier Germany. From here, they do what they can to survive on their own.
It becomes clear to all of them that what had happened to them might have been the same thing that caused the disappearance of Max’s mother, Monika, and his grandfather, Karl. A number of years before this, the two of them had disappeared while visiting the same house the five of them had been exploring.

Now this accidental, and frightening, plunge into time had a purpose—to find Karl and Monika and to bring them home.

But how to get home again? Someone has the key, and someone else will kill to keep that secret from being found out. Fantastic book. Time-travel stories are not easy to write; there is a lot of research involved in order to create a believable world. The author has done just that. Her characters, along with old-world Germany, come alive in a whirlwind of dust and drama. I loved the actors in this drama—each and every one of them had a very real, very colorful persona. The story line never failed, from the first page to the last. Everything a reader could want is in this book – love, both requited and unrequited; deception; murder; loss; reconciliation—you name it. This book does have a cliffhanger ending—I hope Ms. Finlay can get the sequel out soon. I just have to know what happens to … oh, no, that would be telling …