Carefree, eighteen-year-old Jean-Louis is enjoying summer vacation with his family. But a sudden event on a quiet evening in August 1976 brings everything to a halt: Jean-Louis’ younger brother Gilles is hit by a car. Rushed to the hospital, he succumbs to his injuries in just a few hours.
Forty-five years later, the author probes his memory and those of his loved ones to recount with honesty and sensititvity the accident's immediate aftermath and the many years since, struggling to understand the tragic loss of a little 11-year-old brother who has lived on in family lore.