The book tells the story of two young people from Gdansk, parted by the outbreak of war. It is a record of their journey, which saw them on opposite sides of the conflict. Yet, there are many characters in the novel, whose stories are introduced to the reader through the adventures of the book's main characters. It is also, if not primarily, a testimony to the past, told in the language of those who survived the war. Many of the events quoted in the book really happened, and these are the actual accounts of the author's parents (who lived through the war) and other family members, these are also testimonials of soldiers of the past interviewed by the author and all this has been braided into a story woven in the writer's imagination.
Martin Smallridge is a pen name of Marcin Małek (born February 24, 1975 in Warsaw) - poet, publicist, writer, author of translations of Polish poets into English, published in the quarterlies "Fronda", "Tygiel Kultury", "Akcent", and in the monthlies "Polish News", "Nowe Państwo", "Stosunki Międzynarodowe", "Opcja na prawo", "Dziś", and in the Irish weekly Leinster Express. Regular contributor to "Poetry&Paratheatre" 2010-2016. Winner of the annual Poetry&Paratheatre Art Prize (2012) for the Poem of the Year category for his work "Bieg - czyli list do współczesnych". A regular participant in the world's first virtual poetry festival *Th'Republic of Poets*. He has been living and writing in Ireland since 2006.