A violent storm with flashing lightning and crashing thunder strikes the Swedish-Pomeranian port city of Wolgast in July 1777. In a house on Kronwiek Street, the weather heralds the arrival of a new citizen of the world. In the early hours of the following day, Philipp Otto Runge sees the light of day. Gerhard Dallmann traces the roots of his famous compatriot Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810), the founder of Romantic painting, in this biographical novel. He follows Runge's life journey from Wolgast to Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Dresden, returning to the Hanseatic city where he dies at the age of 33. Runge leaves behind not only a young woman with four small children but also a multitude of unfinished projects, ideas, and writings that, although remaining fragmented, ushered in a new era in art.