Niccolò Ammaniti

Home life is far from perfect for 16-year-old Cristiano, so when his alcoholic father and two reprobate friends come up with a plan to rob a bank, he sees the chance of a better life. But as a tremendous storm brews that night, the perfect crime will have shocking consequences for all involved.

Southern Italy is in the grip of a heat wave and the adults shelter indoors while the children roam the countryside. Nine-year-old Michele stumbles across a terrible secret in an abandoned farmhouse, a secret that he can't tell anyone about - a secret that is closer to home than it seems.