Jacob has just been hired as a school teacher on Christiansø, where he has traveled to find himself after a broken relationship, but it turns out to be difficult to find peace on the small secluded fortress island, as he is sought out by the spirit of the freethinker Dr. Theol J.J. Dampe. Dampe was imprisoned on the island for 14 years 150 years ago for speaking out against absolutism.

"Dampe is a fantastic novel about confinement - physical and mental - and the impossibility of escaping oneself" (Politiken)

"As with several of her other books, Hermann has spent two winters on Christiansø, where the novel unfolds. Two of her three sons spent one winter on the rocky island. Oscar was in the "big" class, Theodor in the "small" class. Stories can be invented, but places exist" (Interview in "Fiction on P!")