Synopsis

A few days before his birthday, an event shatters all of young Diego's certainties: returning from the evening shift at the restaurant where he works, he finds his father slumped over the dinner table. His violent and hot-blooded father, to whom Diego is deeply attached, has left him alone in the house overlooking the highway, in a working-class neighborhood of Messina. His only safe haven is his passion for reading and cooking, in which Diego quickly reveals an extraordinary talent. But another surprise awaits him: Giovanni, a brash and arrogant young man, shows up at his father's funeral and throws a very difficult truth in his face, bringing back old resentments and jealousies. This is especially true when he sneaks into the bed of Ester, Diego's best friend and lifelong accomplice and confidante. Meanwhile, summer has arrived, uncaring of the dead and the pain, and with her comes Martina, who overwhelms Diego with all the exhilaration and doubts of first love. And as the boy swims every day in the icy waters of the Strait, trying to keep at bay his fear of the challenges that await him, a choice looms on the horizon that could change his future, and perhaps take him far from that land so loved and hated. A touching coming-of-age novel that vividly paints the life of a modern-day boy in a magnificent yet cruel Sicily. The promising debut of a talented young author.