When Aleena Rieger was growing up, there were certain things she wasn't allowed to talk about. Where she was born. Her family's experiences during World War II. Her mother's illness. Against great odds, the Riegers secured a future in which they and their descendants could lead ordinary lives. But to do so they had to jettison the past--and their past selves.

Years flew by. Aleena had children, and then grandchildren, who wanted to know about her origins. Her parents died, which meant she no longer needed to conceal what she knew to protect them. But she also couldn't ask them to...