After being abducted in childhood, Barbara naturally devoted herself to protecting her sister Edwige, whose psychological fragility is all too apparent. Together, they return to their sanctuary in the Hautes-Alpes, a place once synonymous with happier times. But a new tragedy erupts, rekindling old fears and demanding heightened vigilance. Amid this growing turmoil, will Barbara manage to safeguard their secret without unraveling?
The story unfolds against the fertile backdrop of village gossip and simmering tensions, where everyone knows or believes they know, everyone else. Perhaps the arrival of these two young women stirs buried memories, awakening impulses best left dormant. A crime, eerily foreshadowed, soon disturbs the deceptive calm.
The investigation leads us through a labyrinth of hypotheses, feeding controversy and suspicion. We grow attached to Barbara’s intimate confessions to her psychoanalyst, even as we glimpse the solitude and silent despair of a reclusive widow. Each character, through words and deeds, sows doubt and deepens the mystery.
Some behaviors may stretch belief, but no matter. Like a river with treacherous currents, the narrative sweeps us along. Secrets, dark and unfathomable, send out ripples that spread slowly and surely. Among them lie womanizers, murky confessions, subtle manipulations, and the heavy weight of guilt.
What we think we know, or choose to conceal, proves trivial when set against what still waits in the shadows. And one senses that further upheavals are yet to come.