As a young man, the demolition expert Oskar Johansson is seriously injured in a misguided detonation. His girlfriend is unfaithful to him, and he marries her sister Elvira. The two lead a modest, austere life to ensure that their meager wages are enough for three children. Despite his injuries, Oskar returns to his profession. He becomes politically active and believes in a revolution that never comes. When his apartment block is demolished, he buys a sauna house on a skerry where he can live during the summer. Henning Mankell's first novel tells the story of a working-class life in the burgeoning industry of Sweden and gives a distinctive, powerful voice to the disadvantaged.