A nobleman, Mr. Waller von Wallerstein, is fatally ill. He places an advertisement for the adoption of a child who is to continue the old noble line. A child comes forward, a young Russian. However, it brings with it its entire entourage: the Russian mother, a pianist, and later also the father. The nobleman, who actually only wanted to occupy one child, is occupied by an entire family. Amidst wrangling and misunderstandings, a happy moment arises. This is the external plot of the new novel by American author Irene Dische, who lives in Berlin. The novel has caused a great stir. In its formal structure, it follows the "33 Changes on a Theme by Diabelli" written by Beethoven. It is, says Irene Dische, about a novel of "cold-hearted kindness". The heat of emotions offers too little chance for kindness in the family war: Report on a happy exception in the slaughterhouse of love.