The Secret Life of Writers

Raphael Bataille is an aspiring writer who can’t seem to catch luck by the tail. The manuscript of his novel “Shy Peaks” doesn’t attract publishers, and he gets one rejection after another. In search of inspiration, he goes to the island of Beaumon to find his idol there—Nathan Fowles, the author of three incredible novels. The catch is only that Fowles left the craft of writing many years ago without explanation and became something like a recluse: he lives alone, doesn’t give interviews, and refuses to talk to anyone. However, Raphael is determined to uncover his secret. A Swiss journalist, Mathilde Monne, is also interested in the writer—she has in her hands strange photographs that are directly connected to Fowles. While the two of them, each in their own way, try to get close to the author’s secrets, the serene island is shaken by a terrible murder: the body of a woman was found crucified on an ancient eucalyptus at Beaumon, which locals call the Immortal. It was those old photographs of the murdered Apolline Shapuie that Mathilde wanted to show Fowles. So what does the recluse—who stopped writing—hide?