The story begins with monks working in an antiquated glass works. One of the monks, Brother John, tends to the wounds of another, who has burned his arm in an accident. Bells signal that it is time for lunch, but while the other monks head to the mess hall, Brother John instead ascends through the wooden monastery to the library, where he reads with his dog, Mattias. The leader of the commune, known as the Abbot, permits John to take one of the books from the library — an act that would normally be strictly forbidden — and read outside.