Deutschland

Spending their summer holidays at their grandparents' house by the sea, Sam and her two brothers play a series of dangerous games, pitted against each other yet united in their secrecy from the grown-ups. But when they discover a fierce dog mysteriously trapped in an electrical substation, they face their first real challenge, one from which they cannot walk away. Meanwhile, on a long weekend in Germany, their aunt, Kate, and her new lover find themselves playing games of their own. In the red-light district of Munich, will Kate's surprising challenge for her boyfriend strengthen or destroy their relationship? Many years ago, Sam's grandfather, Richard, also played an unusual game, encouraged by a stranger, as part of a scientific experiment. The choices he made then have haunted him ever since. As Sam delves into her grandfather's secret she discovers that where free will turns to blind obedience, true horror lies.

Martin Wagner is a writer, film-maker and publisher living in London. His first short film Summer was shown at film festivals and on TV worldwide and won him the best director award at the Birmingham Film Festival. His first novel, Rachel's Machine, was published by Pinter & Martin in the UK and by Mondadori in Italy. He translated the play Speer, which was performed and directed by Klaus Maria Brandauer at London's Almeida Theatre. His documentary Klaus Maria Brandauer: Speer in London is about the period leading up to the premiere and has been shown on British TV channel Artsworld. In 2003 he published the acclaimed The Little Driver, which is used in Spain to educate children about traffic issues, followed in 2005 by The Little Politician. His play The Agent premiered at London's Old Red Lion Theatre in March 2007 and was transferred to the West End's Trafalgar Studios. The play had its German-language premiere in October 2008 at the Torturmtheater in Sommerhausen. His film adaptation of The Agent, starring William Beck, Stephen Kennedy and Maureen Lipman, and directed by Lesley Manning, premiered at the Dinard Film Festival and was released in cinemas in 2009. His novel Deutschland was published in September 2013.