It is 1918, and World War I is finally drawing to an end. In the small Canterbury settlement of Southill Downs, 11-year-old Freda Rose looks forward to the return of her brother, Bobby, from the Western Front.But Freda doesn’t know that something else is on its way to New Zealand from battle-scarred Europe: a disease that will soon prove more devastating than any war. As the lethal sickness spreads, striking down even the strongest and healthiest, Freda’s joy turns to horror and disbelief. And when Bobby shows up, damaged by the fighting, she knows her life and the lives of everyone she loves will never be the same again.