Synopsis

August 1944. A courageous and rebellious nun steals a newborn baby from a cell in Turin's Le Nuove prison by slipping him into a laundry cart: he is the son of a deportee, destined for certain death. As is well known, the laundry is not the Germans' business, and most of the time the carts enter and exit the prison walls without being searched. Now the baby sleeps peacefully, but someone will have to take care of him. October 1999. A young woman gets on her motorcycle to search for traces of the brother whose existence she had previously ignored. The truth about her past becomes a priority that for a long time seems unattainable. These two points in time are united by the life of that boy, always a little out of place, of the tough and strong women who saved and supported him, bound by the same secret, and of a torn and recalcitrant country, living through the war and post-war period in a perpetual struggle with itself. Drawing inspiration from a true story, Martina Merletti interweaves documentary and fiction, revealing an extraordinary narrative talent. This very young writer portrays unforgettable, silent, and stubborn characters, and by evoking the past and the present with equal expressive power, she creates a novel that engages and moves us with every page.