Sobering historical fiction that examines the complex lingering impacts of Germany's experience as both aggressor in Europe and victim of Soviet atrocities during WWII. The book explores the reactions of 3 generations of one family affected by the sinking of the Gustloff, in which thousands, mainly, though not exclusively, civilian refugees, died in the Baltic after the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet sub. The event was hushed up by both sides at the time, and little discussed after the war, leaving the incident as potential polemical fuel for resurgent Neo-fascist sentiment.