From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes the stunning and emotional story of a young soldierโs unthinkable actโฆand the bonds of a sister and brotherโs love.
Ruth and her little brother, Aubrey, are just teenagers when their older brother ships off to Iraq. When Joseph returns, uninjured, only three and a half months later, Ruth is happy he is safe but also deeply worried. How can it be that her courageous big brother has been dishonorably discharged for refusing to go out on duty? Aubrey canโt believe that his hero doesnโt have very good reasons.
Yet as the horrifying details of the incident emerge, Joseph disappears. In their attempts to find him, Ruth and Aubrey discover he has a past far darker than either of them could imagine. But even as they learn more about their brother, important questions remain unansweredโwhy did he betray his unit, his country, and now his family? Josephโs refusal to speak ignites a fire in young Aubrey that results in a disastrous, and public, act of rebellion.
The impact of Josephโs fateful decision one night in Baghdad will echo for years to come, with his siblings caught between their love for him and the mediaโs engulfing frenzy of judgment. Will their family ever make their way back to each other and find a way to forgive?
© 2003-2026