Chapters I through IV Summary and Analysis

Olga and Miklos Lengyel are living and working in Cluj, the capital city of Transylvania, in 1944. They have heard reports of the atrocities being carried out by the Germans; Olga says that she doesn't really believe it. She says that there are many clues that the stories are true - including the fact that a German military official who is billeted in their home tells them. This German says that his own family is angry at him because he doesn't send as much loot home as others. Olga says that it's simply impossible to believe all the stories.

Olga and Miklos run a sanatorium named for her husband, who speaks out against the Germans, though he does so very carefully. Despite the care, he's eventually questioned. One day, Miklos is arrested and when Olga searches...