Bob Greene reveals the story of the North Platte Canteen, a railroad stop in North Platte, Nebraska, through which would pass trains bearing United States soldiers en route to Europe or the Pacific. Volunteers from the city of twelve thousand made it a place where soldiers could enjoy music, home-cooked food, magazines and friendly conversation, if only for a short time. Based on interviews with North Platte residents and the GIs who once passed through....

Follows the tragedy and triumph of the Weiss family of Berlin and intertwines their fate as European Jews with the story of a German family, the Dorfs, whose members include a high-ranking Nazi officer. Kristallnacht, the "night of broken glass" occurs and the Weiss family suffer a series of unspeakable tragedies in the aftermath.