Like The Silent Angel, which was published to critical acclaim in 1994, these stories deal primarily with Germany on the eve of war and with World War II itself. Living amidst a desiccated landscape devoid of traditional morality, the characters in The Mad Dog display an almost eerie stoicism as they struggle to piece together the fragments of their shattered lives.

Each character, in his own way, manages to transcend the abysmal meaninglessness of his ruined life and to crawl painfully out of his existential hell. Thus, even in the darkest of scenarios, Boll conjures an affirmation that is inspirational in its power and beauty.

Raw and chilling, these tales embody Boll's commitment to certain basic principles: the religious impulse toward meaning in the midst of human chaos; the hope love offers to those for whom all else seems lost; and the enduring possibility of an ethical core of action in a maelstrom of political and personal corruption.