A disenchanted husband and wife. One reckless move. With a little luck, a tank full of gas, and an unexpected accomplice, they’ll go far in this funny and exhilarating novel about friendship, redemption, and reinvention on the run.

Tina and Markus Michel are an unexceptional couple with a mountain of debt and dead-end jobs. Until Markus impulsively robs a gas station (with a toy gun) and goes on the lam with a blindsided Tina and an accidental octogenarian hostage, Oskar Krauss.

But Oskar is far from the frail nursing home resident he’s portrayed as in the media. In fact, the spry and shrewd ex–petty criminal is in his element again, helping the anxious, middle-aged Bonnie and Clyde navigate an escape plan that turns a not-so-run-of-the-mill day absurdly on its head. The world is watching. The police give chase. And with every mile and exhilarating new day, Tina and Markus realize that leaving the conventional life behind for the thrilling unknown could be the best thing that ever happened.

As for Oskar, he has a destination and a lost love in mind—and surprises in store as a cross-country getaway becomes the adventure of a lifetime.

Ulrike Herwig grew up in Jena, Germany. She is the award-winning author of numerous novels for adults and children, and she writes under multiple pen names. Her work has been translated into more than ten languages. She studied English and German and lived in London for almost ten years, where she also worked as a teacher for a while. In 2002, she moved to Seattle, where she now lives with her family.

Rachel Reynolds has translated more than twenty works, including Forty Hours by Kathrin Lange, Love Letters from Montmartre by Nicolas Barreau, and Place of No Return by Andrea C. Hoffmann and Mihrigul Tursun. She was one of the founders of the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, which aims to broaden the audience for world literature and translation. She lives in Tennessee with her family.