The True Meaning of Love

This powerful novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel is a stirring story of the lives of ordinary people during wartime.

February 24 is the eighteenth birthday of a Ukrainian ballet school student named Vlad. It also happens to be the day that the first bombs of the 2022 Russian attack land on his homeland. As life for every person in the country is turned upside down in a moment, Vlad is immediately called up to serve in the military. But as much as he wants to defend his country, he is desperate to get his girlfriend, Tatyanna, an orphan whose only home has been the ballet school, out of the country.

With their home under siege, Tatyanna tries to make her way to safety in Poland. Also joining the refugees is Yulya, who is torn between getting her young children across the border and staying at the side of her husband, Symon, and her elderly parents, Petro and Oxana, who refuse to abandon their home. As millions flee, Vlad and Symon join a volunteer civilians' unit to fight. Even elderly citizens like Petro and Oxana are given AK-47s, though soon starvation becomes as much of a threat as the encroaching troops.

Sasha, an obstetrician, and Anton, a surgeon, who are secretly lovers, stay behind to treat the never-ending waves of wounded. When the Russians bomb hospitals, the heroic couple finds themselves delivering babies in bomb shelters.

Through the stories of Vlad, Tatyanna, Yulya, Symon, Sasha, and Anton--each struggling to protect their loved ones and preserve their own humanity--Danielle Steel tells a gripping and deeply moving story of regular people surviving as a war rages around them.

Author: Danielle Steel
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 08/11/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780593973141

About the Author
Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include A Mind of Her Own, Far From Home, Never Say Never, Trial by Fire, Triangle, Joy, Resurrection, Only the Brave, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.