A young man from a fairytale island in the north comes to Munich to study painting. He knows neither the local bars nor beer, but he knows exactly what he wants to become: an artist. Almost sick with shyness, the student must navigate his way through life without speaking a word of German. Even at the art academy, he initially remains an outsider, as he finds little common ground with the new wild ones. The world outside is also much colder than it could ever be in Iceland. The Cold War is at its peak, and he wakes up every morning worrying that World War III has already begun. Then it turns out that he has an exceedingly strange gift that doesn't exactly make him appealing. Helgason's hero is much like his author: quirky, full of wit, and wonderfully unconventional.