The sequel to Levi's Auschwitz memoir follows his long journey home after the camp's liberation by Soviet troops in 1945. Instead of a direct route, he and other freed prisoners travel through Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Eastern Europe, caught in the confusion of the war's end. Levi paints vivid, often humorous portraits of the people he meets, including rogues, soldiers and fellow survivors. The book is quieter and more adventurous than its predecessor, yet remains shadowed by what he has lived through. It is a portrait of survival, return and uncertain freedom.