Antwerp in the fifties. Robin de Hert grew up in a Catholic parochial environment; on the one hand there is his authoritarian father and the sadistic secretary of the Catholic boys technical school, on the other hand there are the 'Grieten' and the French teacher with whom Robin is getting a good band through a secret they share. If the secretary finds out about this secret, this has major implications for both the teacher and the students ...
Den Bompa Jos Vleugels is the widower of the bomma Anna and lives with his grandson Leo. He has 2 sons, the eldest is Paul Vleugels, who married aunt Josée Clinckhamers at the beginning of the series. Later in the series, however, they divorce and Paul leaves on a world tour and continues to live in Australia.