The story of a family "from the East" is reflected in this novel as a mirror of the post-war history of our society, without intrusive symbolism. A former drill ground, where attack, defense, and retreat were practiced, transforms into a flourishing tree and plant nursery, becoming a place of new beginnings and daring life foundations. However, after the achievement comes the decline: the founder's strength wanes, the family falls apart, and the question of the value of a life under the threat of impending disenfranchisement becomes unavoidable.

This question also poses an existential dilemma for the narrator, who directly witnesses the beginning, development, and decay, and reports in his simple way what happened: it is the account of a disadvantaged person, a beaten one, who fully makes the cause of his "boss" his own. In this character, Siegfried Lenz also demonstrates his solidarity with the voiceless, who are seemingly insignificant and powerless, pushed to the margins everywhere.

The language of this novel is so powerful that the reader is irresistibly drawn into the pull of the events, the action, and the imagery.