Two men are traveling by train through the snowy night in Nebraska. One tells the other about a monstrous crime that recently occurred in the area. From the vastness of the prairie, the focus shifts to the fate of the affected family, only to ultimately get lost in the white infinity. Joachim Maass's language is calm, almost laconic, and the story is a stylistic masterpiece. This is a new edition of the tale first published in 1938.