Between the two World Wars, on an old silk farm enshrouded by silence and family secrets, a writer is born.

On June 9th, 1936, Emile, age eighteen, leaves home to carry out his military duty. Although they won’t be seeing him for two full years, his parents go about their business like any other day at La Cordot. They are neither proud nor worried. The family never speak of the first World War, nor of the now derelict silk farm that was once the family’s pride and joy.
The morning of his departure, Emile's mother shows him no particular affection. Her goodbye gift is the official family birth record she stuffs into the bottom of his knapsack. On it he read two names: Suzanne, his mother, and another... who was not the father he knew. But who was this man? To find out, he'll have to unwind the cocoon and pull on the thread reaching back to the origins of his family curse.
This sublime and haunting first novel takes us to a place veiled in silence and devoid of kindness. It explores personal tragedies against the backdrop of war. But, amidst the dark memories, there is love in spite of it all.