It appears to capture the past and the future that awaits this land of red-tiled roofs. It is the memoirs of a young Muslim woman married to a Serb, who, in the spring of 1992, suddenly finds herself in the midst of the horror of ethnic cleansing. Covering the first nine months of the war, the author relates her growing sense of apprehension as the behaviour of the people she has known for many years begins to change. A lifelong neighbour and friend leaves the village without saying goodbye. Women and children quit the neighbourhood in the middle of the night.
Wild rumours circulate about troop movements.
Escalating tensions force even the most stalwart optimists to panic. Suddenly, the woman finds that she belongs to the creed of the enemy. The woman and her husband go to stay with Serbian friends of his, who treat her well. She recalls the anthems of her school days that told stories of the army protecting sleeping children. But that army fell apart and bequeathed to the Serbs the largest force with which to strike at the children of other ethnic groups.