diff --git a/doc/source/users_guide/CMakeLists.txt b/doc/source/users_guide/CMakeLists.txt
index ce1d1582e8..4450c63037 100644
--- a/doc/source/users_guide/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/doc/source/users_guide/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 set(SOURCES index.rst
             using.rst
-            files.rst)
+            files.rst
+            groups.rst
+            overview.rst)
 
 add_sphinx_source(${SOURCES})
 copy_to_current_build(${SOURCES})
diff --git a/doc/source/users_guide/files.rst b/doc/source/users_guide/files.rst
index 2dfe63b909..2ea1056bd9 100644
--- a/doc/source/users_guide/files.rst
+++ b/doc/source/users_guide/files.rst
@@ -190,6 +190,4 @@ using the :cpp:func:`File::root()` method of a file instance
     and :cpp:class:`hdf5::node::Group` is worth the additional effort.
     
 
-sdfsdfdsf werwer wesdf
-
 
diff --git a/doc/source/users_guide/groups.rst b/doc/source/users_guide/groups.rst
index be3a745963..ccdfa8112e 100644
--- a/doc/source/users_guide/groups.rst
+++ b/doc/source/users_guide/groups.rst
@@ -2,59 +2,31 @@
 Working with groups
 ===================
 
+Groups are the basic containers within an HDF5 file. The entry point to the 
+HDF5 group hierarchy is the root group of a file. It can be accessed from the 
+:cpp:func:`root` method of a :cpp:class:`hdf5::file::File` instance. 
+
 .. code-block:: cpp
 
-    h5::group_t g = root_group.create("new_group",....);
+    using namespace hdf5;
+    
+    file::File f = ....;
+    node::Group root_group = f.root();
 
-Need to find a good way how to handle group creation property lists. 
+Groups act like STL container in a very general sense. With an HDF5 group you 
+can iterate either over the links directly attached to it or over the 
+objects referenced by those links. You can access links via the publik 
+:cpp:member:`hdf5::node::Group::links` member or the objects via the 
+:cpp:member:`hdf5::node::Group::nodes` member. They are instances of 
+:cpp:class:`hdf5::node::LinkView` and :cpp:class:`hdf5::node::LinkView` 
+respectively. 
 
-Groups should provide a STL compliant iterator interface. 
 
-.. code-block:: cpp
-
-    class group_iterator_t
-    {
-        .....
-    };
-    
-    class recursive_group_iterator_t
-    {
-        .....
-    };
-
-    class group_t
-    {
-        public:
-            
-            //
-            // access a direct child by its index
-            //        
-            object_t operator()[size_t index] const;
-            //
-            // returns the number of direct children below the group
-            //
-            size_t size() const;
-            
-            //
-            // provides access to a child by its name
-            //
-            // As the name can be an arbitrary path with this method 
-            // an arbitrary child can be accessed from this group.
-            //           
-            object_t operator()[const std::string &name] const;
-            
-            //
-            // provides access to an arbitrary object
-            //
-            object_t operator()[const h5::path_t &path] const;
-            
-            group_iterator_t begin() const;
-            group_iterator_t end() const;
-            
-            recursive_group_iterator_t rbegin() const;
-            recursive_group_iterator_t rend() const;       
-    };
+Iterating over nodes
+====================
 
+Iterating over links
+====================
 
 Accessing a groups children
 ===========================
diff --git a/doc/source/users_guide/index.rst b/doc/source/users_guide/index.rst
index 2b9f2c8641..9edb62f27b 100644
--- a/doc/source/users_guide/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/users_guide/index.rst
@@ -10,4 +10,7 @@ Still need to add a table of contents here.
    :maxdepth: 1
    
    using
-   files
\ No newline at end of file
+   overview
+   files
+   groups
+   
diff --git a/doc/source/users_guide/overview.rst b/doc/source/users_guide/overview.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d75244fdc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/users_guide/overview.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+===============
+Design overview
+===============
+
+In this chapter we will have a brief view on the design of *h5cpp*. We will 
+not dive into the details here but hopfully provide enough insight into the 
+concepts behind *h5cpp*. 
+
+.. attention::
+
+    If you are new to *h5cpp* please read this chapter carefully as it is the 
+    basement for everthing else in this manual. If you do not understand the 
+    terminology introduced by this chapter it is most probably difficult 
+    to understand the rest of the manual. 
+    
+       
+A high level view on HDF5
+=========================
+
+
+   
+Nodes and links
+===============