The world of the Labaule publishing family is out of joint. After the death of the clan's patriarch, his second-born son Wolfram unexpectedly becomes the heir to a newspaper empire built up over generations. But until now, Wolfram, husband, devoted father of two grown-up children, bon vivant, business son and permanent board member of the Leuck-Erschwick Poetry Club, has not set foot in the publishing house. But Wolfram has no intention of simply selling the whole business to the tabloid competition, as his mother, who returned from Uruguay in time for the reading of the will, had in mind. So he has no choice but to summon up all his courage, button up his British baby alpaca jacket and push forward. But where is the front in the German publishing cosmos, which teeters between quality journalism and start-up holdings in mail-order pet food?