“A whirlwind of hatred swept through the city, turning every neighbor into a possible enemy.” This is how Lucy, Marie-Louise and Suzanne Stern see Paris, occupied by Hitler's troops. The cousins were born into a wealthy Jewish family and grew up in the bourgeois atmosphere of early 20th-century Paris. Having married into aristocrats and converted to Catholicism, they all became part of French high society and tried to forget their origins. But with the arrival of the Nazis in June 1940, their carefully constructed world collapsed. From now on, the Marquise, Baroness and Countess cease to be considered not only French, but even just people: their passports bear the “Jewish” stamp, yesterday’s friends hastily look away when they meet, their lives are in real danger. What to do with an identity they didn't choose? Should we trust the judgment of Marshal Pétain, a close family friend? Is there any hope of obtaining the status of “honorary Aryans”, free from discrimination and arrest? Damien Roger’s family saga, based on real events, offers us a look at occupied France through the eyes of women who suddenly turned out to be strangers to everyone. This means that a woman from the Stern family is still can be recognized as one of their own in high society. She could not suppress a feeling of pride, mixed, however, with a certain amount of envy. She herself was not offered to become a participant in the procession. However, at thirty-three years old, she is perhaps already past the age when she can show herself off. It’s just that Suzanne had her own connections and ability to maintain contacts, so that some doors swung open for her that remained closed for Marie-Louise. However, she noted that Suzanne was running ahead, waving her arms, while the rest of her team sat decorously on the golden carriage. “And yet there is no escape from hierarchy,” Marie-Louise thought bitterly.