Puro empeño

Alba and Simone have been close friends since their university days. Though their personalities differ—the Frenchwoman is bold and pragmatic, while the Spaniard is idealistic yet cautious—they share good times and support each other through hardships. That is, until the day Simone urgently asks Alba to meet her in Nador, Morocco. Upon arrival, Alba is shocked to discover that Simone is determined to smuggle a baby out of the country, passing the child off as her own. The infant is the daughter of a Moroccan teenager and a young Malian migrant who died while attempting to scale the Melilla border fence. Fátima, the mother, seems to be on board; seeking a better life for her little girl, she relies on the help of Jamal el Glaoui—a dreamer, a hustler, and a survivor of abuse. Yet, Alba is consumed by doubt. It is a supposedly altruistic act, but it violates laws against child trafficking. Should she turn her back on a child destined for an orphanage, or save her—even if it means breaking the law? And what will that little girl think if she grows up with a stolen identity? With characteristic vitality, sincerity, and determination, María Iglesias draws us into a gripping labyrinth with no easy way out—an adventure rich in nuance, featuring stories that are as real as they are improbable, and which delve into the deepest recesses of the human soul.