Mark is a successful political journalist. Following the death of his emotionally constrained mother on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he finds a journal written by his father, George, who was absent throughout his childhood. It reveals the distinguished military record of a soldier charged with mine clearance in the ruins of post-war Germany.

George’s own words paint a vivid picture of the father Mark had scarcely known. A man dedicated to his family despite tensions in his marriage and his growing friendship with a local woman. He only becomes aware of the depth of his feelings for her as he is about to return home following demobilisation.

Mark had never challenged his mother’s account of his father’s death in 1947. He now sets out to dismantle the wall of silence she had erected and discover more. His sister discourages him sensing that disturbing family secrets might be uncovered, and his German born wife seeks to distance herself from his quest; she is scared that she will be forced to confront painful memories of her wartime flight from East Prussia and her post-war childhood.

Mark’s quest leads to a transformative conclusion in Germany against the background of the reunification ceremonies.