After the so-called events—a terrible pandemic that swept the world—fowl breeding was banned. But once a year, a special sacrificial duck is traditionally released from the window of the famous Parisian restaurant, the Tour d'Argent.

The crowd rejoices—the lucky person who manages to catch the fugitive will be rewarded. They will be able to share a celebratory meal with the President of the Republic himself. The bets are off, the hunt is on. But this time, everything will not go according to plan. After all, the bird intends to escape reprisal. And a few marginalized individuals—dreamers, admirers of the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud and Guillaume Apollinaire—will help it do so.

In her post-apocalyptic parable novel, unfolding to the rhythm of a fairytale chase, Eloa Audouin-Rouzeau masterfully dissects the phenomenon of social cruelty. Faced with the barbarity that slumbers within everyone, the writer appeals to our humanity and common sense.