"In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners....One day in July 1942, Lale comforts a trembling young woman... Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her." -- Abridgment of a summary from goodreads.com