Summary

Richard is a Professor of Classic Languages who has just retired from teaching. He is uncomfortable with the void left in his life by retirement. His house looks out at a beautiful lake, where a man drowned over the summer. The police have not been able to find the body yet, and Richard assumes it is slowly decomposing at the bottom of the lake.

One morning, a group of ten men camp out in front of Berlin Town Hall and go on hunger strike. They have illegally immigrated into Germany, and want to remain in the country. While running errands, Richard walks past the protest twice, and does not pay it much attention. As he walks through Berlin, he observes the city through the history he has lived through: World War II (as an infant), the division of post-war Germany, and the fall...