Narrated by an unnamed historian, and based on fragments of memories, testimonies, diaries, and letters, this novel seeks to fill a gap in the historical record of the Holocaust by reimagining those who were murdered and erased from memory.

Omer Bartov was born in Israel and teaches history in the United States. His mother emigrated from Galicia to Palestine before World War II. Most of the rest of his family were murdered under unknown circumstances in the Holocaust.