Chapters 1-2 Summary

The novel is set in a small French village near the border with Spain. This location becomes a mode of escape for those French citizens who find themselves persecuted by the Germans.

In chapter one, Jo is a teenage boy living in Lescun, a small French village on the border with Spain. Most of the men of Lescun have gone to fight in the war and all of them, except for a cousin of Jo's who was killed in battle, have become prisoners of war. Jo is watching the sheep one quiet afternoon when he accidentally falls asleep. When Jo wakes, he finds his dog, Rouf, facing off against a bear. Jo runs into the village and alerts the remaining men. The men march into the mountains and kill the bear. Everyone is so excited by the kill that no one...