Industrial magnate John Witt and his wife Margrethe maintain a disciplined and stately retirement life. When John learns one autumn day that he has been appointed Commander of the Order of St. Olav, Margrethe immediately contacts their three children to make it clear what honor has been bestowed on the family. In his seventh novel, Herman Willis provides a dramatic insight into a parent couple's efforts to showcase a successful and immaculate facade. Through the children, a family story is gradually revealed that makes this surface crack. Within a few autumn months, the situation worsens, and the various family members appear more and more clearly as opponents in a battle where no one is a winner.
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