This story is set in Germany during World War 2. The central character is nine years old named Bruno. Bruno's father is an SS commander who has been given a promotion to look after a concentration camp. Which means Bruno's family including his mother and his sister Gretel are forced to move from the beautiful, big house in Berlin to a dull, concrete house in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a forest. The biggest conflict so far is when Bruno and his older sister Gretel are forced to move away from Berlin for there fathers work. Bruno believes it is extremely unfair that he has to leave behind his friends, his house and pretty much his whole entire life just so his father can work. Bruno tries as hard as he can to convince his father that this place is just not right for a nine year old boy like himself, but his father explains that job is very important and is a serious matter. However when Bruno spots an enormous barbed wire fence in the distance that separates himself from other adults and children everything starts to change.