When Nazi forces occupy the beautiful coastal city of Yalta, everything changes. Eighteen-year-old Filip has few options-he is prime fodder for forced labor in Germany. His hurried marriage to Galina might grant him reprieve, but the rules keep changing. Galina's parents, branded as traitors for innocently doing business with the enemy, decide to volunteer in hopes of better placement. The work turns out to be dirty and the treatment horrific, but at least the family stays together.
By winter 1945, things are going badly for Germany. Allied air raids destroy strategic sites, but Dresden, a city of no military consequence, seems safe. The world knows Dresden's fate-an unexpected firebombing that left thousands dead and the city in ruins. Roads is the story of one family lucky enough to escape with their lives as Dresden burns behind them.
As the war ends, their trials continue. Where did the Germans take Filip and his father-in-law, and how can Galina and her mother find them while caring for a newborn child? How can they all find the strength to persist? Looking for safety in an alien land, they move toward one another with the help of refugee networks and pure chance. Along the way, they find new ways to live in a changed world, new meanings for fidelity, grief, and love.