A breathtaking portrait of modern Haiti told through the voices of the downtrodden and overlooked-from one of the country's preeminent writers.

A minister's nephew is dispatched to a coastal village to conduct an inventory of a library bequeathed to the state by a singular individual. It is a vast legacy consisting exclusively of the works of ''great men'' who have left their mark on history.

When he writes to his uncle to keep him abreast of his progress and latest discoveries, however, he experiences a multitude of voices forcing their way into his head and insinuating their way into his account. Disrupting the prevailing calm and order, they demand their due and assert their own entitlement to posterity. Do not all lives-whether humble or heroic-deserve to have their story told?