In 1940, as the Nazis sweep toward Lithua­nia, Japan­ese diplo­mat Chi­une Sug­i­hara defies his gov­ern­ment and secret­ly issues visas to flee­ing Jew­ish refugees. After the war, Sug­i­hara is dis­missed and dis­ap­pears into obscu­ri­ty.

Three decades lat­er, in Aus­tralia, Rachel Mar­gol is shocked when her engage­ment reveals a long-held fam­i­ly secret: she is Jew­ish. As she grap­ples with this decep­tion and the dys­func­tion it has caused, unspo­ken tragedies from the past begin to come to light. When an oppor­tu­ni­ty arrives to vis­it Chi­une Sug­i­hara, the man who risked his life to save the Mar­gols dur­ing World War II, Rachel becomes deter­mined to meet him. But will a jour­ney to Japan, and the secrets it uncov­ers, heal the fam­i­ly or frac­ture them for good?

The Star on the Grave is a pow­er­ful and mov­ing nov­el inspired by the true sto­ry of Chi­une Sug­i­hara, and the thou­sands of peo­ple — includ­ing the author — who owe him their lives