Tells the story of I.C. Trumpelman, head of the Judenrat in a typical but unidentified town in wartime Poland. He is depicted as a strict leader willing to sacrifice some Jews in order to save others. The moral dilemma of his actions, and the complicity demonstrated by the Judenrat in helping the Nazis carry forth their executions is the central theme of the book. Based in part on the life of Rumkowski, the leader of the Lodz ghetto.