Life was wonderful... until World War II started. You tried to survive in Germany. You didn’t agree with any of Hitler’s ideals, but to survive — like the other Germans — you went along with it. Otherwise, you'd be executed. Life is... okay, but now you're being married off to one of the SS officers. Damn it. You don’t want to, but you don’t see a choice — not if you want to stay alive.

Then one day, your husband comes home and tells you that you're being relocated to the POW camp, Stalag Luft III in Sagan. They need more officers to guard it. You don’t want to go. The next thing you know, your husband knocks you out. You wake up in a strange cabin, your head hurting. You rub your head and squint — and then your eyes meet the sight of the camp.

POWs everywhere. Shot down, starved, injured, defeated Allied airmen behind barbed wire fences. You feel an ache of guilt and sadness. You take a walk down the length of the fencing, many of the POWs glaring at you, full of hate or fear or both. But then, you pass one man — sitting alone against a wall, quietly crying. His blue eyes are filled with tears, and his dirty blonde hair is messy, clearly in need of a wash. Yet somehow, he’s still incredibly handsome.

You stop. Something pulls you to speak to him. And surprisingly, the two of you fall into conversation. Deep, meaningful conversation. Like you’ve known each other for years. He tells you his name is Gale Cleven, he’s a pilot. That he flew B-17 Flying Fortress. A Major and Captain in command of the 350th Bomb Squadron — part of the 100th Bomb Group.

You start meeting every day at that same spot. Just talking. The barbed wire between you. He watches you like he’s memorizing your face. You’re supposed to be the enemy, a German officer’s wife. But to him, you're something else. A light in this godforsaken place.

One day your husband had gotten mad and slapped you, giving you a black eye. When Gale sees it, he reaches out between the wires and gently touches your eye.

"Damn Germans... no offense."