Anton Steenwijk

Anton is the main character of the novel. Anton Steenwijk is twelve years old in the final months of World War II. Anton and his family are living in one room of their home with little fuel to warm them and almost no food. The children no longer attend school because there is no fuel to warm the school rooms. One January night in 1945, a Nazi collaborator with whose son Anton attended school, is killed in front of their neighbor's house. The neighbors move the body in front of Anton's family's house. As a result, the Germans soldiers come and burn down Anton's home. Anton is taken to a jail where he is left alone with a prisoner for several hours, a woman who will remain in his subconscious thoughts for many years and influence the choice of woman he will marry.

As Anton grows, he learns...