Winner of the German Book Prize.It is 1989, and a young literature student named Ed travels to the Baltic island of Hiddensee, a notorious destination for hippies, idealists, and those at odds with the East German state. On Hiddensee, Ed joins the community of seasonal workers, led by the charismatic, enigmatic Kruso. Everyone dances to Kruso's tune. He is on a mission - but to what end, and at what cost? As the wave of history washes over the German Democratic Republic, the friends' grip on reality loosens and life on the island will never be the same.