In the cargo hold of a private railcar lies a casket. Seventy-four-year-old Hagen Beckenbauer is taking someone home to be buried on the family's farm.

Hagen meets Emily, hired through the rail company to be his service attendant for the three-day journey from New Mexico to New Jersey. As they travel together, Hagen tells the incredible story of him, his family and the special passenger in the cargo hold.

A deeply moving novel about how one family survives the most unthinkable and brutal experiences of both World Wars.