Erich was assisting the priest at the altar. He remembered what that holy man had told him about human weakness-and about man's longing for revenge. Suddenly, the door of the church was thrown open. The congregation gasped in terror. A new danger had appeared in Erich's life.
Yet for Erich, as this exciting novel reveals, danger is a constant companion. He had grown up in Germany in the years before World War I. Like so many young men of his time, he had suffered the harrowing experiences of trench warfareonly to find that his sacrifice brought him little appreciation or reward. Now, seeking a new life after the war, Erich joins a circus where he finds that the wild animals he confronts are often less cruel than the greedy and possessive men who seem to dominate the world. When his wanderings bring him to Brazil, however, Erich believes that he has found a new breed of men-but once again his trust is cruelly betrayed.
Only when Erich meets Friedel does the sun seem to rise in his life. She is a beautiful German girl whom Erich encountered on a voyage to the United States. Erich wonders if she will return with him to Brazil.
Perhaps there, on their own farm in the wilderness, Erich can find the true meaning of his life.
In the shattering climax of this thrilling novel, Erich discovers that he must risk his life and all he loves to maintain his dignity as a man and his hope for a better world.
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