In this World War II novel set in France, Therese Leon defies her staunchly conservative father to marry Gilbert Ricard, the radical printer who comes to town following his army service in the Great War. Life is sweet for the young couple, and their happiness seems secure as they raise their children in the cozy apartment above their print shop on Anne Street. But when Gil publishes articles in support of a local strike, over the objections of his iron-willed father-in-law, political differences turn violent. Love and loyalty are tested as the private quarrel grows to encompass the larger conflicts of the turbulent times, and a harrowing sequence of events rips apart their world. Years later, when Tess and Gil's daughter, Gabrielle, decides to work as a printer for the French Resistance, old tensions resurface and her clandestine activities bring new dangers to Anne Street.