The author, as a young boy, leads a privileged life in Viljandi, Estonia, whether he realizes it or not. His father is the president of a bank. His mother is beautiful, and his younger sister is not a problem. School is the problem.
Then comes invasion by the Russians, then the Germans, and then the Russians again, and he and his family spend the next five years on the move after leaving all behind to escape to Germany. This gripping coming of age story tells of survival by outwitting one’s enemies.
Ever the reluctant schoolboy, our author encounters vivid characters amid his adventures and calamities; meanwhile easing his way with any available beer and wine. Sometimes he finds horror, monotony, uncertainty, and hunger. However, things could be worse, he reasons: at least, school is always interrupted by the war and his frequent moves from one place to another. But will his journey ever end?
