At age five, Corentin is foisted on to his great-grandmother, Augustine by his unloving mother whom he never sees again. He grows up in a small village surrounded by trees, but when he’s older leaves for university where he becomes enchanted by city life. The days grow hotter, and droughts become more common until one day, the earth seems to explode. Corentin and his university friends stay hold up underground until they believe enough time has passed for them to reemerge. Above ground, everything appears to be destroyed and all Corentin can think about is returning to Augustine. Will she still be alive? Will the charred trees ever come back to life? Will they ever be able to safely drink water from a stream again?
Amir’s uncle accompanies his family from Syria to Alexandria. But late one night, Amir creeps out of their apartment and follows his uncle who climbs on to a boat. He too ends up on the boat full of desperate passengers fleeing their homes. After Amir is washed ashore on a strange island, he flees the scene chased by soldiers. Vanna, a local teenager, sees him dashing towards her and hides him in their hayloft. But can she protect him from Colonel Kethros who is determined to detain the child in the camp with the rest of the refugees who have washed up on the island?
Pell has witnessed her mother suffer from financial hardship with too many children. With last minute nerves on her wedding day, she escapes on her horse and heads to the Salisbury Fair to begin a new life.
But as she journeys further, thoughts of her family and her abandoned lover keep pulling her back.
From childhood, Elena and Lina are friends. Throughout the 1950s, they know nothing of Naples—the city they live in beyond the impoverished suburb they inhabit. Elena struggles to be first in class, but realizes she will always be second to Lina. When they reach adolescence, their lives take different directions, but will either of them be able to escape into a different life from the reality of their deprived mothers?
This is a compelling step into the Italian mentality of the times, from the limited lives of women to the overbearing macho mentality of the men who frequently react with violence.
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