Summary
A small newspaper ad, like a message in a bottle. Hélène is searching for the truth about her mother, who died when she was three. Her only clues: two names and a photograph found among family papers, showing a happy, carefree young woman flanked by two men she does not know. A reply comes from Stéphane, a scientist living in England, who recognizes his father. So begins a long correspondence, scattered with details at first faint, then more troubling, as the two patiently travel back in time until their stories meet.
