Night of ruin

The story of the Hekne family concludes where the first chime of the sister bells once rang. A secluded settlement of Butangen in the 1930s and 1940s. The central character of the trilogy, pastor Kai Schweigaard, continues to be tormented by the prophecy woven into the Hekne sisters' tapestry, which is said to depict his death. He still blames himself for selling the medieval stave church, including its two bells, to Dresden in his youth. Now he tries to salvage at least the one that has long lain at the bottom of the lake, and wonders how it is that we cannot currently recognise what will later be judged as barbarism. Butangen is becoming less isolated and gradually discovers the world. Roads and railways help with this, but not everything coming from the outside world is good. The Second World War is approaching, and with it the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The war tests the local residents – some join the resistance, others collaborate. And when Great Britain enters the war, the sons of Jehans' brother Victor take part as RAF pilots.