Back to the Balkans

Border Region of Bosnia and Republika Srpska Krajina, 1995. During one of their routine patrols, four Czech soldiers encounter a Bosnian paramilitary group massacring civilians. In complete disregard of orders, they insert themselves into the event and eliminate the attackers. At the scene, they find a suitcase full of stolen gold. Stunned by what they have witnessed and surprised by their own actions, they hide the treasure at the bottom of the reservoir and swear never to speak of the whole incident. Shortly afterwards, the Croatian offensive engulfs the area and their secrets disappear under the weight of the war.

Czech Republic, 2024. A former soldier, now in debt and with his life in ruins, decides to return for sunken treasure. He convinces another member of the unit to join the expedition and the two of them set off for places they were never meant to return to. However, their deed has not been forgotten and there are still people in Bosnia who want revenge. The return of the former Czech soldiers sets off a chain of events in which the past meets the present and every step may be the last.

Eduard Krainer's new novel takes the reader among the soldiers of the Czech contingent of the UNPROFOR mission in the civil war-torn former Yugoslavia, and especially to contemporary Bosnia, a still troubled part of the Balkans.