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Stevan is the long-prayed-for male heir of a rural Yugoslavian family, which previously had seen the birth of girl after girl and was thus considered to be specially cursed. In fact, the curse was felt to encompass the whole community, so that it suffered a damaging drought. Thus, the rains that came when Stevan's birth was announced were cause for much communal celebration. Of course, Stevan is not actually a boy, but another girl baby who was raised as a boy. He/she is a "virginia," for her family has followed the ancient custom of designating a girl-child as a boy to avoid the heavy social censure which comes with having all-girl offspring. Now she is approaching adolescence, and her peculiar situation is, to put it mildly, rather confusing for her.