Before the Birds

Merja Mäki

Finland is under attack from an aggressive and much more powerful neighbour. Alli, who was sent by her parents to study with a witch doctor, escapes from Russian bombs and makes her way across the ice of Lake Ladoga to her native island. She wants not only to escape from the war, but also to become a fisherman, like her father. However, the war changes everything — her native Karelia is occupied by a brutal enemy, and she and her family have to evacuate to the west of the country. Unusual places and people await her, as well as a difficult job in a military hospital. Will the daughter of a fisherman, accustomed to the spacious and windswept Lake Ladoga, be able to take root in a new place? And what makes a person feel at home — familiar landscapes or love for a beloved one?