In the shadowed depths of the Black Forest, two children hunt for firewood and dreams. Ulrich, a boy burning with restless hunger for adventure and belonging, and gentle Ruth, whose Jewish heritage marks her as different in a world quick to judge, wander through ancient woods where every rustle seems to whisper secrets. They speak of magic words, the kind that could reshape reality if only one found the right utterance. Ruth wishes only for her mother's voice. Ulrich wishes for more than he can name: status, purpose, a father who might love him. But the forest holds darker things than children's fantasies. As a storm brews on the horizon, the fragile bond between these two outsiders will be tested by the very prejudices that surround them, and the question of what power a single word truly holds becomes impossible to ignore. Georg Ebers weaves a tender, troubling portrait of childhood where innocence offers no protection from the world's cruelties, and where the magic children believe in may be the only honest thing left in a dishonest world.
