Synopsis

Guardian of ancient knowledge, a woman fights to give birth to the future. Mallena is not one of them. One day, sixteen years earlier, she arrived in Norolani with Jubanne, who instantly fell in love with her and married her to protect her from a fate that weighed upon her like a curse. Yet, for the inhabitants of that village, where the mistral wind carries the breath of the sea, she has become a point of reference. Because Mallena is a farmer who, putting into practice the ancient knowledge passed down to her by her mother, assists all women giving birth, even those from the humblest families, without ever expecting anything in return. But everything falls apart in September 1917, when Jubanne returns from the front wounded in body and soul. To pay for his necessary care, Mallena clamorously demands payment from the town council for her work, and once again, the subsidy is denied. As if that weren't enough, in accordance with a royal decree, a qualified midwife is hired to replace her. Angelica Ferrari, from the mainland, arrives: despite her young age, she has long fought to be there, defying social conventions and the disapproval of her father, who wanted to confine her to the home, marrying into a wealthy marriage. And now she must contend with the mistrust of the village women, who see her as an outsider and reject her care. Mallena and Angelica should be rivals, but instead they are two sides of the same coin, both driven by a desire for freedom and independence, both betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect them, and both victims of the daily injustice the world inflicts, especially on women. However, when the situation becomes unbearable and the ghosts of the past return to haunt Mallena, it will be the entire Norolani community that demands that, for once, justice be truly served. A powerful women's story that, through language, scents, poetry, and the harshness of daily life in early twentieth-century Sardinia, tells of a humble and reserved people, yet united by a profound sense of community. And of a protagonist who, thanks to ancestral wisdom and the solidarity of other women, develops a new and luminous awareness.