It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother?s graveside, Liesel?s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger?s Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor?s wife?s library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel?s foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel?s world is both opened up, and closed down.