A Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who's sent to a forced labor camp. After his father's departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one's dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.

It is 1912 and war looms on the horizon. The school year begins in a boarding school run by priests. Zoltán's father, is one of the masters and struggling with questions that challenge their faith, while waiting for news of his brother, Titanic passenger, and is a particularly problematic group of new students, many of whom have been fond increasingly heavy play each other jokes. The arrival of Father Weigl, hired to teach physical education, will bring alarming consequences.