In the memories of ninety-year-old Jan, which the author partly invented and partly drew from real life, he writes about Jan's admiration and love for the Šumava forests and its people. Elder Jan meditates on human faith in God, loves old pines, and recalls the contradictions of life in the twentieth century, during which humanity experienced two world wars and the Holocaust. He emphasizes the victory of good over evil and hope in preserving a sense of the diversity of nature. He connects science and faith and reflects on the relationship between humans and forests, which has evolved over time. In his thoughts on the relationship between humans and forests, Jan goes beyond mere material exploitation to the intangible idea that trees can evoke in the human mind. This can be admiration, fear, a sense of beauty, endurance, and the influence of verticality.
