Seventeen-year-old Anselm Andros has several clearly defined roles in his family and they're ones that he plays very well: he is confidante to his mother, Maria, who at age 15 gave birth to him and so grew up alongside him; he is the confessor to his stepfather Leo, a man haunted by the secrets of his past; and he is also the patient, caring brother to his precocious sister Jasmine. When the political landscape of Malonia starts to shift, Anselm's ordinary world begins to unravel all because of the choices Leo and Maria made fifteen years earlier. The voices from the past still echo in the present and shape the lives of the family, especially for Anselm, who is desperate to uncover the secret surrounding his birth. With so much uncertainty at home and in his world, it is more important than ever for Anselm to piece together the past. He must listen to his own voice and acknowledge his fears and desires whatever the cost.From the Hardcover edition.