In 1939, at the age of eleven, Drukier was forced by the Nazis to leave his native city of Lódz, in Poland. His narrative, prompted by his first visit back to Poland after fifty years, begins with his childhood, follows him in and out of various hiding places and to the labour camps, and describes his day of liberation and his later emigration to North America. But this is also the story of the day-to-day life of Jews both before and during the war, providing a detailed account of Drukier's friends and family, and their love, wit, and will to survive.