We meet a respected doctor who turns out to be anything but respectable; a seemingly harmless man who was once a merciless executioner; a teacher whose life is turned upside down by the war; a mother who desperately awaits her son's return. All these characters have a story to tell, a story that can hide some very dark truths. Happy endings are rare, but isn't that the case with life? Exclusion, misery, disarray, betrayal, war. Marie-Célie Agnant takes a compassionate look at the human condition where executioners and victims rub shoulders. A poignant book that shakes up many prejudices.