Rosie has been distinguished by her red hair since she was born in her town. Unlike other people who see red hair as a curse, Rosie is proud of it. After her family is taken from the Hungarian-occupied north of Romania to Auschwitz, the girl loses her beautiful hair, but tries to maintain her pride and courage in the inhumane conditions of the concentration camp.

In the midst of the horrors of the Holocaust, young Rosie turns to memories of her childhood and adolescence in her native Crasna and draws strength from them. In difficult situations, he recalls experiences with his siblings, the advice of his mother and his beloved grandfather, thanks to which, despite everything, he retains his humanity and the ability to empathize with others.

"Redhead" stubbornness saves her life several times. Although she is surrounded by cruelty and destruction in the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, on the death march or while working as a slave in a German munitions factory, she does not lose faith that she will return home. She tries to share this faith with her younger sister Lea and the other girls. However, mere determination and intelligence are not enough to survive, and Rosie finds herself several times in a situation where she saves her life only thanks to a lucky combination of circumstances.

Nechama Birnbaumová captured the true story of her grandmother, who bore important testimony about the experiences of Holocaust survivors, in her book Russian Hair from Auschwitz. The story also lovingly describes the history of Rosie's family and the girl's coming of age. Thanks to the interviews given to her by her grandmother, the author is able to colorfully depict the life of the Jewish community in the 1930s and 1940s, with an emphasis on its culture, religion and customs.