Set in a war-torn French town during the First World War, Alone At War tells the story of Sara, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl who is left alone to care for her nine-year-old sister when her mother dies of the flu in 1914. Forced to feign madness after abuse, she struggles to maintain her sanity and preserve the religious values of her sister while living above a cafe where ex-prostitutes entertain soldiers for their livelihood. Thoroughly researched and written in stark, powerful prose, A. M. Brussel gives an authentic depiction of the horrors of the First World War. It is a dark and disturbing voyage through history, but also a hopeful and inspiring tour of the human spirit.