The novel describes the life of a youngboy named Ana and the inhabitants of a village in the Dolenjska region. The events are told from Ana's childhoodperspective, which is devoid of adult morals, aesthetics, and embellishments. Ana, and later as a young man, follows the fate of the villagers during wartime, their exile to a camp in Silesia, their return to their homeland, and their lives during peacetime. The novel concludes with the loneliness and eventual death of the main characters. The author also uses the work to describe events from his own youth, when he was exiled with his family during the Second World War. The novel is considered one of Božič's best works.