This is a tintillating story about a lonely derilict and a girl who lives with her quiet and ruined mother who is involved in her own loveless daily life, and her foster father who abuses her sexually. The story is set in Northern Norway in the 1950s. While it centres around Tora the storyline also incorporates a larger context.

The book is a depiction of the small town society in which Tora grows up. The war has recently ended and Tora is a war child - her biological father is German. She and her mother are both victims of the war. In addition to this terrible predicament her foster father rapes her. How can Tora evolve under such circumstances? Which path does she find to escape this lifeless and terrible situation?  

When we are introduced to Tora she is in the delicate period of adolescence, in the transition from girl to woman.