Ifriqiya

In this final novel of an informal quartet, begun with The Other Side of The Orange Grove, If The Full Moon Loves You, Why Worry About The Stars?, and Maqam, Diego Nicari, a travel writer, makes a sojourn to Tunis in order to research his family history. Knowing his great-grandparents and grandfather once lived among the Sicilian diaspora in La Goulette, he hopes to find out as much information as possible for a book he's writing about the Nicari family. While wandering through La Goulette, he encounters a disabled boy, Oussama, who offers to play music for him. A misunderstanding lands the boy in trouble with an abusive policeman and Diego rushes to his defense. Diego can't help feeling guilty over instigating the situation and wants to make amends. A friendship develops between them. As the details of Oussama's life slowly unfolds, the more heartbroken Diego becomes, distracting him from his original plan. Meanwhile, an ambitious child protective services employee threatens Diego's plans and a mysterious photograph of Diego's great-grandfather emerges which casts a shadow of mystery over his true origins.