The dramatic years of 1939-45 are transformed into a work of art in this novel with extraordinary linguistic power. The literary significance is enhanced by a new perspective: Hans Bergel perceives continental events from the viewpoint of Southeast Europe, leading to previously unknown nuances. At the same time, he crafts a novel about the dilemma faced by educated, nationally conscious circles in the Nazi Reich, as well as about resistance and collaboration in occupied France. The exoticism of the Southeast is evoked, akin to the Latin American style of García Márquez, with adventurous fates, as is the image of Europe from Castile and Transylvania to Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin, and Odessa. The hungry wolves keep returning: this is illustrated as a crime, espionage, social, love, and Bildungsroman, filled with gripping epic energy through actions and metaphors.