The magnificent opening of Fontane's epic life work addresses the question of the historical and social role of the Prussian nobility, a theme that occupied him until his last novel, 'Stechlin,' which was published two decades later. Fontane's 'Vor dem Sturm' unfolds a panorama of the Mark Brandenburg nobility, bourgeoisie, and peasantry, looking back into history and forward to the wars of liberation against Napoleon. At the center is the young Lewin Vitzewitz, who feels quite at home in the romantic literary circles of distant Berlin but is called to arms by his reckless father - against the returning French armies. An event is brewing that Lewin must pay for with his life.