Potrc's novel is rooted in the rural society of northeastern Slovenia and focuses on the difficult relationship between individual ambitions, family property and the rigid social structures of village life. Juzek Hedl leaves his family homestead after a dispute concerning property and begins working as a farmhand on the neighbouring Toplek farm. His relationships with members of the Toplek family become increasingly complicated and eventually lead to a crime and imprisonment. From his prison cell, Juzek reconstructs the events that brought him there. The novel combines social realism with a psychologically focused account of human weakness, poverty, sexuality, jealousy and the desire for land and security. Potrc also incorporates elements of the local speech of the Drava region, giving the novel a distinct regional character. The work is regarded as an important example of Slovenian social realism and was translated into English by Harry Leeming. Ivan Potrc (1913-1993) was a Slovenian writer and playwright associated with social realism. Born near Ptuj in a poor farming family, he drew extensively on the rural society and social conditions of northeastern Slovenia in his literary work. During the Second World War he was interned in Mauthausen and later joined the Yugoslav Partisans. After the war he worked as a journalist and editor and became director of the Mladinska knjiga publishing house. His novel Na kmetih earned him the Preseren Award in 1955. He was also a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.