The hero of this story, Franz, is not fictional. We know him as Saint Francis. Why does Luise Rinser tell the story of Francis of Assisi, which is documented in historical records, and above all, how does she narrate the life and deeds of this young fiery spirit, the poet and singer from the Middle Ages, who was a wild playboy and spendthrift as the son of a wealthy merchant until he left as a beggar to the mountains to be with the poor and lepers? For Luise Rinser, Francesco Bernardone was a spiritually driven revolutionary, an uncomfortable outsider in a time that, in many ways, resembles today: The founding of the first factories (weaving mills) marked the beginning of private capitalism, the money of manufacturers and merchants, princes and the church led to power struggles and wars, making the poor poorer and more miserable.