It is 1925 in an unnamed German city. In front of an apartment building, there is a garden gnome named Polycarp; he belongs to the building’s owner, Herr Resch. Herr Resch rarely leaves the building. He only does so on holidays if the weather is nice. He spends exactly one hour in his chair next to Polycarp, observing passersby. Then, he goes back inside. He started out selling bathing suits. Now, he is the district manager who lords over his workers and renters.

The narrator is born. A week later, Friedrich Schneider is born. The narrator and his family live on the second floor. The Schneiders live directly above them. The narrator’s parents and the Schneiders were never close before the birth of their sons but through their children, they grow closer.

It is 1929. The narrator is four-years-old. Frau Schneider knocks on the door. She asks the narrator’s mother if she could watch Friedrich while she goes to city hall. Friedrich and the narrator quickly become comfortable with one another and play together. They then help the narrator’s mom make potato pancakes. They eat them up as soon as they are cooked, getting messy in the process.