Germany is dead. For us, it is dead. It has been a dream. "See it at last, please!" Joseph Roth implores Stefan Zweig in a letter from 1933. Roth, who grew up in the Galician town of Brody, is by this time one of the most sought-after literary critics. Zweig, hailing from a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna, is a globally renowned bestselling author. The friendship between the two writers becomes increasingly overshadowed after the Nazis come to power: while Roth emigrates as early as 1933 and from the outset rejects any compromise, Zweig tries for a longer time to find a way to adapt. Despite the growing estrangement that both suffer from, Zweig financially supports his friend and repeatedly attempts to dissuade Roth from his destructive alcoholism. The correspondence tells the story of a friendship that also suffers due to the political circumstances.