Fire in the Blood

Silvio has returned to his homeland after many years' absence. He is generally a recluse, but he does spend time with a few friends and relatives from his past, including his cousin Helene and her daughter Colette and his neighbor Declos. Silvio is now an old man and he observes his younger friends with sharp eyes: Silvio sees how the young are driven by fire in the blood, an illness to which he deems himself to now be immune.