Two short novels originally aimed at teenagers, dealing with the struggles of Jewish survival under Nazi rule, are brought together in this volume for adults. Morris Gleitzman's popularity with his younger readership has been fuelled by his ability to treat grave themes with humour. Here, we meet the runaway orphan Felix, an optimistic dreamer in Nazi-occupied Poland. Immersed in his own delusions - he assumes that a group of Jewish people "packed in a truck" are farm workers going on holiday - Felix provides an unflinching narration. Inspired by the true story of a Polish Jewish doctor's heroism, this is a mercilessly stark tale. It is also a tender eulogy to man's courage and compassion.