After the death of his mother, Youssef, a gay teacher who has been living in exile in France for over a quarter of a century, returns to Morocco at the request of his sisters to settle his inheritance. This return turns into an emotionally upsetting journey for him. He is confronted with memories of his childhood and youth: the closeness to his sisters, the tensions and fractures within the family and, above all, Najib - his childhood friend and lover, whose life ended tragically.
While Youssef wanders through the streets of Salé, the formative experiences of his upbringing come back into his consciousness: Poverty, violence and the social exclusion of all who – like himself – do not conform to social expectations.
The novel ends at the Bastion of Tears, the old city wall of Salé, a place where individual pain and intergenerational suffering come together. Here, Youssef is faced with an existential decision: to surrender to his pain, to forgive – or to choose the path of revenge, like Najib. (Publisher)