May 1992. Hana is twelve years old when her older sister Atka puts her on a UN evacuation bus fleeing the besieged city of Sarajevo. Thinking they will be apart for a short time they make a promise to each other to be brave. But as the Bosnian war escalates & months go by without contact their promise becomes deeply significant. Hana is forced to cope as a refugee in Croatia while Atka & their younger siblings battle for survival in a city overwhelmed by crime & destruction. Then when Atka manages to find work as a translator events take an unexpected turn & the remarkable events that follow change her life & those of her family forever.