In the 1970s, in the countryside of New York, a group of dropouts settled on a large property with an old schoolhouse. They dream of living self-sufficiently and freely, naming their place Arcadia. The gripping story of this romantic departure, of marriage, decline, and the lingering effects of this rural commune is told from the perspective of Bit. Bit was born in Arcadia. As he grows older, he falls in love with Helle, the rebellious and self-assured daughter of the charismatic leader of the hippie community. The children grow up in a carefree manner, closely connected to nature in a protected seclusion. Later, after the violent dissolution of Arcadia, Bit becomes a photography professor in New York City. He and Helle have a child together. However, she, who was always stronger than him, ultimately cannot cope with the reality outside of Arcadia. Even as a city dweller, and despite the idyllic world of his childhood being lost, Bit keeps the utopia of peaceful rural life in his heart. In the end, at his mother's grave in Arcadia, he reconciles with the conflicting coexistence of dreams and reality, despite all the political and environmental disasters and with the awareness of his parents' mistakes. A touching and thrillingly told novel about an enthusiastic departure.