Family

Much of this story is about a journey back to family. In the beginning, Ondrej is forced to leave his family in Colorado when he loses his wife. He takes his young son to Pennsylvania, where an accident forces him back to his Slovakian village. There the reader sees his son, Jozef, grow up in idyllic mountain setting, bonding on the mountainside with his father and his adopted brother, Zlee.

The stillness is broken when Jozef feels the need to fight in WWI. He is able to stay with Zlee for the bulk of his time there, until Zlee is shot. Jozef, who had been remarkably calm and level-headed to this point, even in the face of the brutality of war, falls apart when he loses his brother. He realizes that all he really has to live for is the possibility of seeing his father again...