Tunis, 1904. Ernesto Nicari, a laborer living among the Sicilian immigrant community in La Goulette, and his wife Luisa, dream of one day going to America. Unable to conceive children, they are destined to live a life together alone. Leyla is a seventeen year old Berber girl who ran away from home after refusing to marry the man that was chosen for her. Seeking protection from her cousin Houssem, who is also Ernesto's best friend, she wants to live a life of her own, make her own choices, including who to love.
Now pregnant with Ernesto's child due to an ongoing illicit affair, Leyla hopes Ernesto will leave his wife in order to be with her. As Ernesto tries to keep Leyla's pregnancy secret from everyone, including Houssem, and especially Luisa, a tragic and unlikely love story unfolds, testing Ernesto's marriage, his friendship with Houssem, as well as his own morality.
In this second book of an informal quartet of novels - begun with 'The Other Side Of The Orange Grove' - the author explores issues of immigration, culture, colonialism, and how sometimes dark secrets from the past will inevitably reverberate for generations to come.
