1936, in the aftermath of the Ethiopian occupation by Fascist Italy, under the incredulous gaze of the inhabitants of the small town in the Italian province Abraham Imirrù, an ethiopian prince and guerrila fighter is being held prisoner in the local Podesta garden's aviary. But for little Emilio, local recently force enlisted and reality-dissociated Balilla, he is Sandokan, the literal Salgari's character ...and he will be his hero.

Benno and Allegra: he's over fifty, English, and drinks like a fish; she's twenty years younger, a travel blogger with lots of imagination. They both live off their lies and have no intention of stopping now. Next-door neighbors who had never met until the day he wound up on the wrong landing, and nothing would ever be the same. Sheer chance leads this odd couple on a flight towards lost or forgotten places, where their mutual support makes for self-discovery.