David Schalko's crime epic "Schwere Knochen" is a spectacular, unique novel about Austrian post-war society – and a fascinating insight into the inner lives of people whose souls were destroyed by National Socialism. Inspired by true events, it is told with a lot of dark humor and yet great empathy. Vienna, March 1938. On the day when half of Vienna cheers for its new leader at Heldenplatz, a gang of young petty criminals robs a well-known Nazi. For the next seven years, they must serve as so-called Kapos to ensure the "maintenance of operations" in the concentration camps of Dachau and Mauthausen – and thus grow into serious criminals. Back in the bombed-out Austrian capital, the gang led by Ferdinand Krutzler, also known as "Self-Defense Krutzler," dominates the Viennese underworld for years.