Samuel Berkow, the hero of David Unger's novel Der Preis der Rettung, leaves Hamburg at the urging of his uncle and goes to Guatemala, where his cousin helps him settle in his new home. At thirty-eight, Samuel is young enough to make a fresh start. Overconfident and somewhat naive, he stumbles into a completely new world unprepared. Due to the dangerous conditions in Puerto Barrios, the young, sensitive man quickly finds himself in a struggle between resignation and resilience.
Unger illustrates Samuel's increasing disorientation with scenarios and encounters that are in some ways reminiscent of Kafkaesque labyrinthine struggles. The fundamental question that permeates the novel: What is the price of escape?