Jacob Jankowski is unlucky — a beggar who lost his parents, without a job, he is forced to wander around America during the great depression, until one day he gets on a train belonging to the circus of the Benzini brothers, "the most magnificent on earth". This is where he finds his place in the sun-gets a job as a veterinarian. So the circus on wheels becomes for him, on the one hand, salvation, on the other — the incarnate hell. People who look like animals, animals with human hearts, dark, dangerous secrets and, of course, love.The novel was a huge success. Over 10 million copies have been sold worldwide. The book became a # 1 bestseller by the new York times, the Los Angeles times, and the wall street journal. The film based on the book (2011, directed by Francis Lawrence) stars Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christoph waltz.