In the final days of World War I, Sergeant Josef Kempfe, of the Imperial German Army, is retreating with his men before the Allied onslaught. His heart has long ago ceased to be moved by all the horrors of the trenches. Exhausted beyond desolation and haunted by visions of his lost comrades, Josef keeps going in the hope of once again being reunited in Dresden with his young wife Gabriele and their two sons. While the war may be drawing to a close, for Josef the battle is far from over. He will have to navigate the chaos of a country in turmoil, where a famine kills hundreds every day, a pandemic slaughters even more, and a revolution cannot wipe away the shame of the vanquished.

In The Lost Ring, Christine Gauthier and Marc Dauphin craft a gripping tale that spans the harrowing years of the World Wars, exploring the fragile hope that survives even in the darkest of times. Woven through this historical backdrop is the poignant story of a man confronting not only the devastation in his soul, but also the burden of returning to a life forever altered. Can love and family still thrive amidst the ruins of an empire and the beginnings of an evil dictatorship?

This powerful novel of resilience, sacrifice, and redemption will immerse readers in the personal struggles and the monumental tragedies of a world at war, a story told from a different perspective, that of the ordinary German people.