In 1898 a young German boy goes missing in Jerusalem while out with his father. On the same day his mother gives birth to another son, destined to be neglected by his devastated parents, and to live in the shadow of Johannes, a brother he hasn't met. Stefan, a Jewish friend of the family and an artist, holds himself responsible for the boy's disappearance. All that is left of Johannes is a portrait, painted by Stefan just a few days before the boy vanished. Despite rumours of sightings, no one can know whether Johannes is alive or dead. The political landscapes of colonialism, German Templers and Jewish Zionism, two world wars, Weimar Germany, and finally Nazism, are brought vividly to life in the physical landscapes of Jerusalem, Cairo, Venice and Dresden. It is not until the closing pages with its dramatic depiction of the Dresden bombing, that the fate of Johannes finally becomes clear.
