At the core of Magris’ book is the destiny of a group of Italian communists who travel to Yugoslavia after the Second World War to contribute to the construction of a socialist society, only to be caught in the conflict between Stalin and Tito. They are imprisoned for their Stalinist allegiance; when they are finally allowed to return to Italy, their old comrades refuse to accept them.
马格里斯的书的中心是一群意大利共产党员的命运，他们在二战后前往南斯拉夫，帮助建设社会主义社会，但在斯大林和铁托的冲突中身陷囹圄。他们因效忠斯大林而被捕；而当他们最终获准返回意大利时，又被意大利老同志们拒绝了。