After Franz Kafka's passing, he left behind a trove of unpublished manuscripts with explicit instructions for his close friend Max Brod to destroy them. Despite Kafka's wishes, Brod chose to preserve and publish the works, introducing the world to one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. This act of benevolent betrayal set forth a multi-generational saga that spans a century and ends with a real-life Kafkaesque trial.