Synopsis

At thirteen, Kevin is forced to leave his hometown of Toronto for Marostica, a small town in the Veneto region of Italy, where he is immediately labeled "the foreigner." Fitting in isn't easy: a new language, a new school, a new world... but everything changes when he meets Sara and Andrea, two kids his age who live in the same building as him, always looking for adventure. On Halloween night, the two convince Kevin to visit an abandoned factory. But what started as a game ends with the grisly discovery of a suitcase full of organs—perhaps animal ones? No one seems to listen to the three kids, not even when the province is rocked by a series of satanic crimes. The only one willing to listen to them is Nabil, a homeless man of Moroccan origin who sleeps in the factory, and whom the police immediately accuse of being the culprit. As they attempt to exonerate him, Kevin, Sara, and Andrea find themselves trapped in a spiral of secrets and prejudices. Only when the truth begins to emerge do the three realize they've become involved in something bigger than themselves—though it may be too late. In his debut novel, Simone Filippini crafts a disturbing noir about friendship, integration, and the fight against injustice, observing reality through the eyes of three teenagers driven by the desire to one day become better adults than those around them.