Querfeldein

In a Swiss village on the border with Germany, a young innkeeper named Arnold runs a guesthouse a hundred years ago. Colorful birds and dark figures cross the border, some even coming at night and across the fields. At the regulars' table sit the jokesters from the village. One day, a stranger on horseback approaches through the snow. Her name is Betty. Arnold marries her and has eight children with her. Life goes on until the eldest daughter Clara falls in love with a smuggler named Hermann in 1933. He incites the authorities on both sides of the border against him. A drama unfolds – and the village rises up against a great power. Alex Capus is a master at turning historical material into great novels.