One evening Sarah Marty hires Yoldas, a Kurdish mason, to rebuild the crumbling wall around her large house in Paris suburbs. Over the course of the summer, he tells her his story, which comes to forge a bond between them, unexpected kindred spirits who have both seen death up close. With tact and discretion, Sarah writes: "Night after night, I found myself returning to a story that would not let me go, retracing this man's dogged journey through field and forest with fourteen other souls misfortune and comradery had brought together."