Tom Slade with the Boys Over There

In a quiet Alsatian village that has been reshaped by occupying forces, a weather‑worn stone house stands as a stubborn reminder of a once‑French home. Inside, Pierre Leteur, a veteran who lost an arm defending his homeland, lives with his wife and daughter Florette, clinging to whispered French conversations while the German soldiers patrol the surrounding roads. Their quiet defiance is marked by small, dangerous acts—Florette’s secret singing of the Marseillaise and her brother Armand’s bold shout of “Vive la France!” that forces him to flee into the mountains and eventually across the ocean.

The Leteurs wait for any sign of hope, their lives intertwined with the distant rumblings of a world at war and the promise that America might one day tip the balance. As tension tightens around the vineyard and the old arbor, the family must balance cautious survival with the fierce yearning for freedom that still burns in their hearts.