Book excerpt: “She gazed at the majestic stone building from a distance; with the sun reflecting in the tall gabled windows, it was lovely enough to be a little palace. But appearance is deceiving; inside it was a chamber of evil.” In 1939, Hitler’s invasion of Holland crashed like a thunderbolt upon the unsuspecting Dutch people. The dreaded word “Occupation” ruled their existence, but this family of three chose to defend the Motherland. Hillie worked as a double agent; shy, twelve year old Anje was a courier, and Jan became a collaborator. Secrets and lies, the concealment of Jews, Allied pilots in hiding, all were considered acts of treason which could condemn them in this notorious “House of Blood and Tears.” The consequence of their involvement was costly in Hitler’s Holocaust. A vivid history of World War II in the Netherlands, this is an amazing account of great courage and daring, with a surprise conclusion.