Frederick Fritzschenburg, 80 years old and dying in hospital, is a second generation Australian of German descent. Rejected by his mother at birth and raised by his Grossmutter and Grossvater, Frederick recalls a life torn by two world wars and the Great Depression¿a life of uncertainty and anguish, of disappointment, human frailties, and estranged relationships, in which Frederick wants nothing more than to rekindle the special childhood bond that existed between himself and his Grossmutter.