Fisherman Mustafa and his wife, Mesude, are devastated with grief for their son Deniz, who was lost at sea at seven years old. One day, Mustafa discovers the bodies of a woman and man in the water, likely refugees from Syria, Pakistan, or Afghanistan drowned as they attempted to reach Greece. Nearby, he also finds a baby boy, tied to a small inflatable boat and miraculously alive. Mustafa and Mesude at first welcome the child as a precious gift, a second Deniz, but when a woman surfaces claiming to be his mother, they must make a painful decision. Through their heart-wrenching story, Zulfu Livaneli sensitively evokes the struggles of migrants seeking a safer life in unknown, often hostile lands. In the process, he also teaches readers about the history and culture of the Aegean, and the.