Published in 2004, this novel recounts the harrowing events that took place in the occupied town of Dubica during World War II. Hatred, malice, greed, and the twisted ideology of the German and Croatian Nazi (Ustaše)occupiers - along with their collaborators - shattered the harmony of this peaceful town on the right bank of the Una River. Lifelong friends and neighbors became bitter enemies under the weight of military oppression, as daily life crumbled into ash and ruin.
The story exposes the horrors of massacres, retaliations, mass executions, and the forced deportation of innocent civilians to death camps. On one side stand betrayal and collaboration; on the other, a growing force born from patriotism - a resistance movement fueled by hope and courage. Amidst this darkness, the novel highlights the quiet heroism of ordinary people from Dubica who, though they did not choose war, found themselves compelled to fight against its evil.
