The story begins in 1989 on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. The investigation into a young woman's disappearance falters as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Silva was beautiful and cheeky, admired by many, but the police investigation revealed a more complex portrait of Silva than her family believed. She dabbled in drugs and dealt in heroin. Yet her brother stubbornly continues the search amid the upheavals of Croatian society, from the fall of communism through the 1991-1995 war to the explosion of tourism with its toxic land speculation and corruption.