Based on the real-life scheme to take down one of history's greatest monsters, this heart-pounding trilogy puts two courageous kids at the center of the plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

Berlin, November 1943. With bombing raids commencing, the city is blanketed by explosions.

Siblings Gerta and Max Hoffmann live a surprisingly carefree childhood amid the raids. Berlin is a city going about its business, even as it's attacked almost nightly.

But one night, the air raid sirens wail, and the Hoffmanns' neighborhood is hit. A mortally wounded man comes to their door, begging to be let in. He asks for Karl Hoffmann, their father. Gerta and Max watch as Karl tries in vain to save the man's life.

Before he dies, the stranger gives their father a bloodstained packet of documents, along with a message: "For the sake of humanity, the Führer must die. Finish it, Karl!"

Based on real events, this is the story of two children swept up in a fight for the soul of Germany -- and the world.

execution (Book two)

Scholastic
Grades 3 – 7

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Summer 1944.

Max, Gerta, and their parents have abandoned their home and relocated to a safehouse in a different Berlin neighborhood. The Hoffmanns share the tight quarters with Kat Vogel, the daughter of an executed Becker Circle conspirator.

Though they have strict orders to stay inside unless absolutely necessary, the three kids sneak out regularly, all while concocting a plan to keep the spirit of their resistance alive: They're going to burn down the headquarters of the Hitler Youth.

Meanwhile, Claus Von Stauffenberg, a member of Operation Valkyrie's inner circle, vows to carry out the assassination of Adolf Hitler himself. And he will do it soon. Time is running out. Two small decisions change the life of one family -- and the path of history -- forever.

escape (Book three)

Scholastic
Grades 3 – 7

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July 1945.

The Nazis are out for blood. After the attempt on Hitler's life, the Hoffmanns must flee Berlin. Max and Gerta, along with their mother and Kat Vogel, are forced to leave their father behind—at the mercy of the Gestapo.

Following the same path that the Becker Circle used to smuggle Jewish escapees to safety, the Hoffmanns begin a desperate journey across Germany, through occupied France, and into Spain. But going on the run is incredibly dangerous, and the Nazis have invoked the blood guilt laws. Anyone thought to be connected to the assassination plot, along with their families, will be killed or sent to the camps.

The Hoffmanns have friends who are willing to help them escape, but their family is still incomplete. Max can only hope that he'll see his father again.