Detective Striggio is going through a rough patch. On the home front, Leo would like him to stop hiding their affair, especially from Striggio’s father. The disappearance of Michele a "special" child, as extraordinarily gifted as he is incapable of relating to others has the effect of a time bomb ticking down to disaster. And the solution may well be found inside the human psyche and not through the twists and turns of a traditional investigation.

Marcello Fois (Nuoro, 1960) lives and works in Bologna, where he graduated with a degree in Italian literature. He made his fiction-writing debut in 1992 with Ferro recente, followed by numerous titles including Picta (1992 Calvino Prize), Nulla (1997 Dessì Prize), Sempre caro (1998 Scerbanenco Award), Dura madre (2002 Fedeli Prize), Memoria del vuoto (2007 Super Grinzane Cavour Prize, Volponi Prize and Alassio Prize), Stirpe (2010 City of Vigevano Prize and Frontino Montefeltro Prize), Nel tempo di mezzo (shortlisted for the 2012 Campiello Prize and Strega Prize), Luce perfetta (shortlisted for the 2015 Scerbanenco Award and the 2016 Asti d’Appello Award). He is also a playwright and screenwriter for film and television, and has written a libretto for an opera based on a novel by Valerio Evangelisti, Tanit. Along with Giulio Angioni and Giorgio Todde, he co-founded the literary festival L’isola delle storie in Gavoi.