"Irene Corsini, known as Califfa, has experienced poverty from the day she was born, but has faced the hardships with the ready humor, shrewd common sense and innate resilience characteristic of her people. She has had to face tragedy with the death of her only son, Attilio, and is trapped in her marriage to the despondent and wretched Guido. When Guido is killed during a strike, Califfa is left alone more than ever." "Annibale Doberdo has risen from modest beginnings to become the richest and most powerful man in the city of Emilia. But there has been a price to pay: forty years of acquiescent cooperation with his wife, Clementina, who comes from a higher social background, in stifling his own personal principles and the ideals of his youth. The victim of a marriage that has long since become an empty farse, surrounded by yes-men and parasites and with no real friends, Doberdo's future looks as bleak as Califfa's."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved