A novel set in West Germany in the late 1960s. A schoolteacher sits in a dentist's chair, and his thoughts wander as he undergoes treatment. He is troubled by a student who plans a shocking public protest against war and consumer comfort, and he must decide how to respond. Through his talk with the dentist, memories and a television set in the room, the book weighs radical action against gradual reform. It is a wry, restless look at youth, protest and the pain of change.