Northern Germany, around 1850: John Hansen has become a criminal more out of recklessness than inclination and is trying to regain a foothold in "normal" life. He meets a girl named Hanna, they marry, have a daughter, Christine, and live in a cottage on the outskirts of the village. However, he cannot shake off the stigma of being an ex-convict; the people in the village call him John "Glückstadt," after the name of the prison where he served his time. John finds work increasingly hard to come by, and a quarrel with his wife shatters his domestic happiness. Storm's dramatic master novella has been brilliantly illustrated by Julie Völk with fine lines. "After this John had served his sentence as was right, he was, as is customary, left to the hunting dogs of society.".