The starting point of the new novel by the Trieste writer Boris Pahor is the national existence of the Slovenians of Trieste, connected to the fate of two people who experienced severe violence in their youth; the woman experienced sexual abuse, the man experienced the cruelty of fascist violence in a concentration camp. A love story develops between them - the older Slovenian Igor and the much younger Frenchwoman Lucie, which represents the central part of the novel. Due to the traumas of their youth, their relationship is initially difficult, but through letters, conversations and meetings in Paris, it grows spiritually and emotionally and uplifts them personally. Although the story of the novel is somewhat distant in time, the work, which was published on the occasion of the author's 90th birthday, is interesting primarily because of its reflections on the integration of Slovenian culture into European culture.