Eleven-year-old Martin has nothing but the shirt on his back, and a black rooster which is both a protector and a friend. The villagers steer clear of the boy, finding him strange; far too smart and kind. They would rather mistreat him than acknowledge his talents. When Martin meets a travelling painter and seizes the chance to leave the village with him, he is led into a terrible world which, thanks to his compassion and understanding, he is able to resist, becoming a saviour for those even more innocent than he is.

A mother dies, and her family are accused of wallowing in their grief. Life must go on, say the Mohns’ neighbours, and the Mourning Bureau agrees. But they don't want to move on – not her partner Adam. Nor Linne, furious with the world. Nor Steve, a student who has come back home. Nor Micha, the youngest. They want to hold onto Johanne – not just in their own memories, but through countless stories that may not be entirely true to life … 

»Summer in the city is surprising yet fundamentally to be expected. Rather like death.«
Stefanie vor Schulte

What choice is there but to flee when children suddenly become allergic to adults, who in turn forget they even have children; when birds spread their wings and fly away, and dogs attack their masters? Aria, her colleague Marion, and fifteen exhausted children try to make a life for themselves in an isolated, disused coastal hotel. But Einstadt’s residents don’t make life easy for them. Aria is even more concerned about the thin horse on the beach - how did it get there, and what does it want from her?

A female western and a dystopian story - only Stefanie vor Schulte could combine genres like this in such an incomparable novel.