Remarque died before finishing this story of a German emigrant to New York. The world wanted a "last great" novel by the famous bestselling writer, so the manuscript was heavily edited and completed to become a bestseller. It was published in 1971 as SHADOWS IN PARADISE (German: Schatten im Paradies). Almost twenty-five years later, in 1998, the original manuscript was reconstructed and published as a fragment under its original title, THE PROMISED LAND (Das gelobte Land).

It is about a German emigrant and holocaust survivor in New York. It examines the sacrifices and compromises he has to make. It culminates in the bigger question: is criminal action from the past still punishable? Does guilt persist? Remarque's clear advance is: yes.