A novel set in Italy in the aftermath of World War II. A boy, Román Alberdi, sees the great cyclist Gino Bartali for the first time in the Tour of the Basque Country. As a child exiled by the Civil War, he will meet his idol again at the Tour de France. Later, he will go in search of him in the Tuscan town of Ponte a Ema. As well as cycling, many more themes and characters are mixed together in this book: the cinephile who shows films in secret, the friar who evangelises birds, the Portuguese sailor who has stayed on land, the baker who bakes a special loaf every day and the milk seller who has to hide her identity. A fresh style, a dreamy atmosphere, surrealist touches and a call to fight against injustice come together in this work that shows that literature and life can go hand in hand.