On a winter's night in Czechoslovakia in December 1942 Dieter is born in the family home in Bruex. He is the fifth generation to be living there but his heritage could have dire consequences in the near future. It is a turbulent time of political unrest. His mother Erika, aged nineteen, wants love and happiness without the responsibility of caring for her child. She deserts him when he is two months old, leaving him in the care of her parents. Dieter's...