On the pages of Jerzy Andrzejewski’s novel, the radio thunders without interruption. At the beginning, a message is heard from May 4th: that an act of surrender has been signed at the headquarters of Marshal Montgomery—"according to which … German military units in north-western Germany, in Holland, in Denmark… including the warships located in this area, cease fighting and surrender unconditionally." The next message, from May 8th, announces Germany’s unconditional surrender.
The action of the novel takes place between these two broadcasts. In a small Polish town, Oświęcim—during these three days—five people are killed.