“At least I was smarter than Dries. He nearly drowned after jumping into the canal to hide.”

“I had to stay in the water for three hours!” Dries said, laughing. “I was chilled to the bone, but it was better than being caught.”

The sound of their laughter and deep voices made Ans homesick for Erik. She thought of him throughout the day and when she lay in her box bed beside the kitchen stove at night, wondering if he would ever forgive her for not quitting her underground work and marrying him when he’d asked. And for disappearing. Sometimes she would daydream about their life together as she scrubbed the workmen’s overalls and socks or when she lay staring at the wooden ceiling at night, wondering if there was any hope at all for them after the war ended. If it ever did end.

Summer on the farm meant long days and extra work, but the highlight of Ans’s week was when her Resistance contact arrived with the latest underground newspaper. A seed salesman, Leeuw was exempt from Nazi roundups and had a valid reason to travel from farm to farm across the countryside. Ans guessed his code name, Lion, was because of his thick mane of reddish-blond hair.

One rainy summer day, Leeuw delivered the welcome news that the Allies had landed on the Continent.

“We’ve heard rumors that the Americans had landed,” Ans said, “but now we know it’s true.”

“It’s true, my dear. You can read the news for yourself.” The newspaper was the one she and Eloise had worked for. Ans saw how vital their work had been, especially after the Nazis confiscated everyone’s radios. She wished she could tell Eloise how grateful people all across the country were.

“When do you think it’ll be safe for me to return to Leiden?” she asked Leeuw. “It’s been two months.”

He shook his head, brushing his thick hair from his eyes. “It’s still too soon. You must be patient.”

“What about letters? You said you would let me know when I could write to Eloise or my parents or my boyfriend.”

He continued shaking his head, giving his answer.

“Even if I mailed it from a different town?” she asked. “With no return address?”

“My dear, if they’re looking for you and your letter is intercepted, you’ll put your loved ones in terrible danger.”

August arrived, and with it came hot days of hoeing weeds and sticky nights in her box bed in the kitchen. It felt good to cool off in the canal at the end of a long day, but the farmwork didn’t satisfy Ans’s need to fight back.

She noticed an increase in Nazi activity nearby and was often awakened at night by the rumble of trucks and heavy vehicles on the back roads. When she walked into town on errands, she saw soldiers everywhere. Something was going on.