The events of the novel are set in a desert town in Algeria in 1988. As in Khatibi's previous novels, this one is distinctive with its exceptionally tight plot, as it revolves around the murder of a frivolous hotel singer. Complex investigations begin, and investigators are incapable of reaching a firm conclusion easily, where there are multiple suspects. Through the voices of the novel's narrators, who are the protagonists of the story, the writer delves into the history of colonialism and that of the Algerian war of Independence and its heirs, by recounting the circumstances of the case, which takes place in one month, despite its complexities. The characters accused of killing the singer are not only charged with a criminal offense, but it turns out they are also concerned with the war's great legacy, each from a different perspective.
