The material for this epistolary novel is a forgotten chapter of the Holocaust: David grows up in Romania under the dictator Antonescu, who is hardly any less ruthless than the Nazis in his persecution of Jews. It quickly becomes clear to David's father that he and his son have only one chance of survival: escape! He manages to secure a passage to Palestine, but the ship turns out to be an old rust bucket. Countless overcrowded refugee ships were heading to the promised land during this time, but the British severely restricted entry. Their fear of losing the Arabs as allies against Nazi Germany was too great. The Turks also allowed not a single person to disembark, and so the unseaworthy ship, with nearly 800 refugees on board, was towed back out to sea, where it was eventually sunk by a torpedo of unknown origin. All the people on board perished.