Forced into crimes he never wanted to commit, Pietro reaches crisis point when his parents ignore his pleas for help and his schoolteacher turns her back on him - in desperation, he reaches out for attention, and finds instead a terrible revenge.

Escape from Ischiano Scalo comes at a price.

One sweltering summer, in a forgotten corner of Italy, two very different lives collide.

Pietro is eleven years old. His father is alcoholic, his mother mentally disturbed, and he dreams of running away. But before he can leave, a weary traveller arrives in town. This aging Casanova has a penchant for young women and flamenco. Life in Ischiano Scalo will never be the same again . . .

'Ammaniti is not only a master storyteller but has a very nice line in sly humour as well . . . Forget Lucca, Siena and Cortona. You'd be crazy not to visit Ischiano Scalo.'
Michael Dibdin, Guardian

'Exuberant and audacious.'
Observer

'You're a long way from tourist Italy with these lowlifes and deadbeats . . . their stories converge to a devastating climax, one that is entirely unexpected.'
Independent on Sunday

Ischiano Scalo. A place where even the main road out to the nearest big town gives up after a couple of miles, where escape from a life of boredom and emptiness is almost impossible. Forced into crimes he never wanted to commit, Pietro reaches crisis point when his parents ignore his pleas for help and his schoolteacher turns her back on him - in desperation, he reaches out for attention, and finds instead a terrible revenge.

Escape from Ischiano Scalo comes at a price. Life there will never be the same again.