The Girl Who Rode the White Lion

On November 9, 1938, young Sarah Frank flees her home in Darmstadt, Germany, during the horror of Kristallnacht. Pursued by SS officer Hauptsturmführer Hubert Zimmer, Sarah finds unexpected refuge in the magical world of Adolf Frey’s traveling circus, where lions roar and secrets fester. Adolf, a renowned lion trainer, and his French wife Louis, an elephant whisperer concealing her Jewish identity, risk everything to hide the girl. But Zimmer’s obsession grows, putting everyone in danger.

Fast forward to January 6, 1957, Mark Spencer, a veterinarian at the Central Park Zoo, is stunned when a post-mortem exam on a rare white lion named Christmas reveals a silver SS ring lodged in the animal’s stomach. As he investigates, Spencer is pulled into a decades-old mystery that spans Miami, France, Israel, and back to New York, uncovering the truth behind Sarah’s fate—and that of her relentless pursuer.

As past and present collide, the novel unfolds as a haunting tale of bravery, identity, and how justice sometimes comes from the most unexpected places.