|summary=A young, silent, bedraggled man walks into a hospital in 1950s Romania and collapses. He's a source of mystery to all the staff, apart from one nurse. She knows who he is and the reason for his silence. Gradually, by encouraging him to draw his memories, they relive their lives, his missing years and the shared secrets that could become a death sentence.
}}
'''Longlisted for the [[Orange Prize for Fiction 2012]]'''
A young, anonymous, vagrant collapses on the steps of a hospital in Romania. He doesn't speak and remains a mystery to the staff that tries to treat his obvious symptoms but can't seem to reach the silent person beneath. However, Safta, a nurse, suggests that he may be deaf and produces drawing materials. Coincidentally, the man is able to draw beautifully, but this is no coincidence to Safta. There are reasons why she can't disclose it, but she knows this man. They grew up together in pre-war Romania, a whole world away when the country had a king, beautiful cities untouched by bombing and being able to read a foreign language wasn't punishable by imprisonment in work camps... or worse.