Gift edition in a small format, printed cloth binding with a ribbon bookmark. When the ENT specialist Manuel Ritter has just taken his seat on a departing train after a medical conference, a woman knocks on the window of his compartment. Some time later, this woman stands in his practice and wants to have a child with him. Although this desire outrages him—he is happily married and has two children—he cannot resist the charm of the stranger. Nine months later, he receives a card from her with the line "It worked." Since then, he sees his life burdened by a sensitive blemish that he has long managed to suppress. Even when a knocking sound begins in his ear, he would prefer to continue living as if nothing serious had happened...