"Somewhere along the coastline of Italy, a man passes his days in solitude and silence, tending a garden and reading books of travel and adventure. Through these simple routines he seeks to quiet the painful memories of the past: a life on the run from Argentina's Dirty War; a young bride "disappeared" by the military; a terrifying escape through the wilds of Patagonia." "Yet everywhere he turns new life is pulsing, ready to awaken his senses, like the force that drives his fruit trees into bloom. A woman of the world reintroduces him to love. An African day laborer teaches him the meaning of gratitude." "In this narrative, every acute observation, every nuance, becomes a means of salvation."--Jacket.