Eighteen for Life

In 1945, newly married Genia and Mietek Guttman emerge from the horrors of war and losses of both of their families, with a glimmer of optimism and a desire for a good life. Their aim is to get as far away from Poland as possible. With their baby daughter Lusia, they travel via Prague, Paris and Brussels, and eventually arrive in Melbourne where Franka is born.

For many years Genia and Mietek withhold their survival experiences from their daughters. They create a loving family environment and enjoy the successful life they sought, always trying to look forward, and avoiding looking back. Nonetheless fragments about the past emerge, including the tragic life of Genia's mother, Zosia.

Their daughters wrestle with how little their parents will tell them, hoping to uncover the secrets that are held so tightly. Lucy marries and moves to New Zealand but the trans-Tasman relationship between the sisters becomes ever closer as they continue to seek answers. Their determination to learn more about their parents' lives leads them to visit family birthplaces in what was then Poland. And as revelations of how their parents survived emerge, Genia's biggest secret is revealed.