Abel Tiffauges, a man obsessed with his own perceived destiny, finds himself drawn into the machinery of Nazi Germany as a captor of children. Tiffauges is a social outcast whose life is defined by a strange, compulsive fixation on innocence and the supernatural. As the Second World War escalates, he is conscripted into the German army and eventually finds a position at a school for the Hitler Youth, where he believes he is fulfilling a dark, mythic role. The narrative, presented through his own journals, tracks his descent into a world where his personal obsessions align with the catastrophic ideologies of the Third Reich.

The novel is widely regarded as a significant work of post-war European literature, noted for its unsettling exploration of the human psyche under the influence of totalitarianism. Critics frequently highlight the author's ability to blend historical reality with mythic, almost surreal, elements to create a disturbing portrait of the era. The prose is often described as dense and intellectually demanding, requiring the reader to engage with complex moral and historical questions. It remains a polarizing yet essential text for those interested in the psychological underpinnings of the Second World War.