The first part of a trilogy of novels about the fate of the author's ancestors from 1672 until the abolition of serfdom in 1781.
The author begins her narrative about the oldest known members of the family, as the records have been preserved in the student rectory near Možděnice in the Chrudim region until the time when Jan Šmahel decides to leave the old home of 4 generations with his son Jakub. The author focuses on the inner life of the characters.