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A number of colonial wars in Africa in the 1970s have resulted in the conscription of Alex's father Pedro into the Portuguese Army. The young man and his father write to one another frequently, and it seems as if they are still close. However, at some point, the letters stop coming. Alex and his mother are worried that Pedro might have been killed or captured, but that particular concern is soon replaced by another when they learn from a returning soldier that Pedro has been back in Portugal for several months. When he is persuaded to return to his home, it becomes clear that he might have been wiser to stay away.