Janice L. Dick Boeken

Bound by a secret and a promise, Danny and Rachel Martens immigrate to America from China via Germany in 1952. They settle into life in Oregon, and Danny's business flourishes. But memories and flashbacks from the Korean War plague his dreams.Their daughter, Diana, grows up restless and willful. The undeniable love of family and friends eases her troubles, but she is unwilling to give in to God's persistent tug on her life. Diana's unquenchable curiosity aggravates an already challenging journey. She travels to Austria for Bible college in 1970 and searches for her roots in her birth city of Berlin, where she discovers more than she bargained for. Why have her parents lied about her true identity all these years? Will this new revelation change the course of her life and alienate her from those she loves? And when does a promise become a curse?

Death and destruction rage through the Mennonite colonies as Red and White armies continue to requisition, recruit and advance their positions. Ongoing strife and accompanying drought result in severe famine, disease, and the worst enemy of all-fear. Johann Sudermann works with Benjamin Janz to secure permission for Mennonite emigration, but they are faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles at every turn. Meanwhile, Katarina attempts to sustain her family and friends amid chaos and uncertainty, and Paul Gregorovich Tekanin tries to survive in anonymity. The Mennonites of South Russia face a fierce struggle for faith and survival as their dreams are dashed one by one, yet they cling to the hope that God will yet intervene and speak to them as He did to Job, "out of the storm."