Then is the second book in a seven-novel series that follows protagonist Felix Salinger from his childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland in World War II to old age in Australia. In the first installment of the series, Felix spent over three years at a Catholic orphanage; he was left there by his Jewish parents, who were trying to protect him from persecution. Felix’s parents owned a bookstore, and they instilled a great love of reading and storytelling in their son. Because of this, when Nazis burned books in the orphanage, Felix took it as a sign that his parents were in danger, and he set out to find them. As he traveled, Felix was confronted again and again with Nazi atrocities, forcing him to mature and move from childish denial to acceptance of his situation. Along the way, Felix met Zelda, a young girl whose parents were Nazis killed by the Polish resistance, and the two children formed a close bond with each other. Felix and Zelda were forced into a ghetto and were taken in by Barney, a kind Jewish dentist who took care of orphans.