In 1941, American journalist Varian Fry arrives in Marseille for a seemingly impossible mission: to smuggle out Jewish artists and writers with minimal resources, as Hitler's armies conquer Europe. Among them are André Breton, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, Max Ernst, and Heinrich Mann.

For a year, Fry, risking his life and entangled in his personal stories, issues forged documents and creates a secret rescue network, bypassing the obstacles of the French authorities and his own country's consulate. Along the way, he will be called to choose between his moral mission and his personal happiness.

A novel based on an unknown true story, "exquisitely written and impeccably documented" (Publishers Weekly) by American Julie Orringer (b. 1973).