Her father, Romana Petri wrote, "was different from all other men, because he knew great joy, the sudden overturning of grief, unreasoning optimism." But he was not like the fathers of other people. And it was this sad revelation that led her to write this book, part stories, part reminiscence. There are vignettes of cruelty, of sadness, of isolation; but there is also a spirit of optimism that allows some of her friends-Avelina, Giovanni, Francesca, Sandro and others-to lead "normal" lives, despite their emotional scars. Readers of Petri's An Umbrian War will recall her unusual, haunting, lyrical style, which also pervades this work.