Maurits Goossens

Govert Miereveld is a lawyer from a small Flemish town who also teaches in a school for girls. He harbors a secret love for one of his young students, Fran, whom he loses touch with after her graduation. Some time later, Miereveld has to attend an autopsy, and the shock of the experience deeply affects his mental balance. He finds out - or he believes so - that Fran has become a popular singer. He arranges to meet her to finally reveal his feelings. An ambiguous but perhaps tragic denouement follows which might be a figment of the protagonist's disturbed mind.

In the Belgian hamlet of Verbrande Brug, former lovers Monique and Louis reconnect at a carnival, stirring up drama with their current partners.

A 40-year-old mother struggles to deal with the anxiety of growing older after her eldest daughter moves out and the youngest distances herself.

The story of how Hendrik Conscience became one of the most important Flemish writers is told through a series of flashbacks to his childhood and adolescence.