As the Russians advance into East Prussia, women and children are forced out of their homes to make way for the victorious troops. Their fight for survival is only just beginning... Facing critical food shortages and the onset of a bitterly cold winter, some of the older children, the 'wolf children' secretly cross the border into Lithuania, begging the local farmers for work or food they can take back to their starving families. Cinematic and elegantly written, Alvydas Slepikas's debut novel, based on real-life events, is both meticulously researched and stunningly powerful. It won numerous awards on publication and took Lithuania by storm.