At Krull's, the small pub run by German immigrants on the outskirts of a small town in northern France, mainly attracts canal boatmen. Despite their efforts to integrate, the Krulls remain outsiders. When cousin Hans arrives, the situation escalates. Hans is unconventional, carefree, and audacious. He draws the community's hatred upon himself, and the Krulls find themselves increasingly marginalized. When the body of a young woman is discovered, suspicion immediately falls on the German family. A mob begins to gather in front of their house. In this nearly prophetic novel written before the November pogroms of 1938, Simenon depicts the excesses of rampant xenophobia on the eve of World War II.