The twins - Tessa de Loo

"Gripping and touching" Independent
"Memorable and moving" The Times

Bound by blood, separated by love...

Twin sisters, Lotte and Anna, share a bond that is far stronger than
anyone except they alone can understand. But when war comes
between them, the two discover that even the deepest bonds have their
limits.

Having been cruelly separated as children, Lotte and Anna are at
last reunited. Neither lost hope to see each other again. However, with
Europe on the verge of war, much has changed between them. While
Lotte has enjoyed a privileged upbringing in liberal Holland, Anna has
endured a life of poverty in a Germany under the spell of Hitler. With
Lotte now engaged to a Jewish musician, and Anna brainwashed by
Third Reich ideas, cracks in their relationship soon appear. With the war on, the twins decide to part again.

Back in Germany,
Anna marries Martin, an Austrian soldier, who hates the war but joins
the SS for the sake of his wife only to be killed a few days later. Anna is
devastated and longs for her sister. At the same time, Lotte's own life is
in danger. The Nazis have invaded Holland and her lover has been
taken to Auschwitz. Knowing she will never see him again, all she can
do is keep his family safe from Hitler's troops. Now an old woman, Lotte remembers the pain as, before her, stands
the sisters she disowned all those years ago. Can these two lives ever be
reconciled? The twins now face their final test . . .

Translated from the Dutch by Ruth Levitt