At the age of 80, Evangeline is uprooted from her beloved Acadia and sent to Montreal to live with her son and daughter-in-law. One day, she encounters three other 'exiles' and confessions, revelations, and personal entanglements ensue.

Antonine Maillet, the author, was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, in the heart of "l'Acadie." The author of twenty-six works of novels and plays, she has been awarded eleven literary prizes in Canada and Europe. Antonine Maillet is Docteur de lettres of Laval University of Quebec and has received thirteen honorary degrees.