[1] The English translation by John Fletcher was published in April, 2012, in the UK by MacLehose Press, and in August, 2012, by Knopf in the USA.

According to the description by Maya Jaggi in The Guardian: "Moving mainly between France and Senegal, this novel explores survival, inheritance and the feared repetition of history - within families, as between peoples.

On arrival, she discovers her brother Sony is in prison for the alleged murder of his stepmother, and the father — whom she still fears and dislikes — wants her to defend him in court.

The second story takes place in the Gironde in France (where Marie Ndiaye actually owns a house), where Fanta, a teacher, and her academic husband Rudy have a serious argument, and he shouts "go back where you came from".

When she abandons a first attempt to leave by boat and is badly injured, she encounters a young man becomes her lover and persuades her to join him on the journey through the desert.