Petar Caranovikj

When Marco and his mother arrive at a refugee center full of children, women and old people, the boy meets two friends who explain that it is only a matter of time before the soldiers bring a shoe box full of the belongings of one of their fathers who died in the war. Once they settle in the center, one of the children reveals to Marco that the classroom they are in is cursed: death will visit those whose last name is on the door, and they will likely receive a box. Marco becomes obsessed with the sound of a military jeep carrying the dreaded box and devises a plan to outwit Death.

Three Macedonian women have to contend with control over their bodies, tradition, loyalty, pregnancy and adoption. They have not set out to change the world or society, but their struggle to become mothers makes them unlikely heroines. The three bittersweet stories, one medieval, two contemporary, mirror and contrast one another, exploring themes of love, trust and motherhood.