Gerta, her mother, and her brother, Fritz, live on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall (the side controlled by the Soviets). Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can’t help herself. She sees the East German–soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors, and friends are prisoners in their own city.

Includes six copies of the book.