Beth McCreton

When the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, a now-elderly woman immersed in a house full of books, turns on her computer and starts writing the story of their friendship.

In her public persona, Eleanor “Tussy” Marx was a translator, actress, a children’s rights activist and a persuasive labour organizer, a tireless powerhouse determined to carry on her father’s work. She held her own with twentieth century gods, including both her father and his colleague Engels. In her privately life, however, she was vulnerable and her attraction to the self-indulgent and self-important Edward Aveling led her into misery and ultimately proved fatal.

When she receives an email from her first love, Sveva, the reality of Beatrice, a disillusioned and cynical artist, is shattered. Sveva's words accompany Beatrice between the memories of their intense and tormented relationship and her present, which she passively lives within a graphics studio in which Beatrice tries in vain to return to feel alive. Through Sveva's story, Beatrice finds herself facing her past, reflecting herself in it. This cathartic path will lead Beatrice to a crossroads that confronts her with a crucial choice.

Sicily, summer 1990. Two young boys, sons of ardent communists, run away from home to re-found the Pioneers, the glorious and now extinct scouts of the Party. But not everything goes according to their plans.

When the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, a now-elderly woman immersed in a house full of books, turns on her computer and starts writing the story of their friendship.