Roses in the Wind: Chapter by Chapter
Welcome to this Chapter by Chapter guide of the second book in the Sért Family Saga: Roses in the Wind.
The sequel to As Wild as Nettles is set between 1924 and 1928 and portrays Vittorina and her husband’s changing family dynamics and growing tension.
BEWARE OF SPOILERS as the following 16-chapter guide will take you to learn more about this book’s storylines!
Chapter 1 - Across the River
Brunette’s visit to her pregnant sister Vittorina reveals growing political violence when she brings news of the brutal beating of a local shoemaker’s son — news Vittorina dismisses, exposing deepening divisions and fear-driven silence. Seeking reassurance, Brunette learns from a friend that known agitators were involved, confirming the spread of intimidation in the community. Crossing the river to visit relatives, she is stopped by a menacing patrol of young men, including the charming Edmondo. Though allowed to pass, Brunette is left shaken, aware that her familiar world is becoming increasingly dangerous and watched.
Chapter 2 - The War Within
A violent hailstorm shatters the night at the Sért household, mirroring the emotional unrest within the family. As the damage to the harvest becomes clear, long-simmering tensions surface, especially in Cricket, whose bitterness is fueled by loss, fear of conscription, and resentment toward his younger sibling Giaza, now training for priesthood. In a climate where political conformity offers safety, Cricket’s anger spills into cruelty, revealing how fear and opportunism corrode family bonds. Fleeing home, he confronts Giaza at the seminary, projecting his jealousy and self-loathing onto his brother’s innocence. His vicious outburst ends in shame and expulsion, leaving behind tears, prayer, and rain — external signs of a deeper moral and emotional fracture.
Chapter 3 - When the Frogs Start Croaking
A family gathering at the Bumbara house offers a fleeting image of harmony, marked by shared food and teasing affection. While the older, married siblings settle into their roles, Giuseppa — the youngest and unmarried — withdraws, revealing her loneliness and uncertainty through a tender exchange with her pregnant sister Angiulina beside the fading roses. As the family disperses, the mood shifts: Celso arrives with urgency, hinting at darker business beyond the farmhouse. Meanwhile, Rinzó, a physically powerful but inwardly gentle man is drawn into fascist violence. As night falls and another senseless attack is carried out, the croaking frogs signal a change in the weather — and in the moral climate — underscoring how brutality has begun to replace kindness in Villanova.
Chapter 4 - Domenica
A Sunday trip to the circus in Ravenna pulls Pirì out of his rural routine and into a world of spectacle, unease, and sudden danger when two tigers escape, sparking panic among the crowd. Amid the chaos, a young girl named Domenica calmly tames the animals, standing firm against fear and armed authority alike. The episode leaves a deep impression on Pirì, awakening in him a resolve to trust his own judgment rather than bend to others’ expectations. Returning home, tensions with his wife and mother linger — until Vittorina goes into labour and gives birth to a baby girl. Moved by the courage he witnessed at the circus, Pirì names his daughter Domenica, sealing both a new life and his quiet commitment to inner independence.
Chapter 5 - Charmed
Two years have passed. As daily routines unfold at the Sért and Bumbara households, small domestic frictions reveal Vittorina’s uneasy position between her birth family and her in-laws. At the market in Villanova, gossip and caution mingle under the ever-present shadow of Fascist intimidation, embodied by the unsettling figure of Celso. Charismatic, feared, and quietly powerful, he moves easily through both the crowd and the fields, commanding respect and silence. When he finds Pirì at work, he exploits their bond and his own charm to secure a crucial signature, persuading his trusting cousin to guarantee a dubious deal. Unaware of the danger, Pirì commits his home and land, marking the moment when loyalty and admiration become the instruments of his undoing.
Chapter 6 - Present Perfect
Amid the bustle of All Saints’ preparations and a town christening, everyday church life in Villanova unfolds in quiet ritual and half-spoken tensions. Giuseppa’s chance encounter with her old friend Caterina exposes unspoken longings and small humiliations, while an abandoned dog leads to a fleeting, hopeful connection with Adelmo Contessi. Outside, fascist chants drift through the square, blending political fervour with personal moments. Inside the church, a seemingly minor discovery — a gold tie clip said to belong to Pirì — raises subtle questions about presence, secrecy, and truth. When Giuseppa returns the object to her brother, his silence speaks volumes. Unknown to her, the clip’s return is no accident, hinting at hidden choices and quiet compromises that will remain unconfessed.
Chapter 7 - No
Tension between Vittorina and Pirì reaches a breaking point during a trip to Lugo to have their children photographed. What begins as ordinary marital bickering over modernity, pride, and small habits deepens into something far more serious when Vittorina overhears gossip about a countess acquiring land on Viazza Vecchia — land that may include their own home. Forced to confront him, she learns that Pirì has signed a financial guarantee for his cousin Celso, putting their house at risk. His inability to refuse, rooted in loyalty and wounded pride, clashes violently with Vittorina’s fierce sense of responsibility and foresight. Their marriage is suspended between love and resentment, the threat of loss hanging in the frozen December air, unresolved and ready to erupt.
Chapter 8 - One Night Only
Seeking distance from her crumbling marriage, Vittorina returns to her childhood home, where familiar spaces and the unexpected visit of her beloved Aunt Filomena offer both comfort and clarity. Overshared memories and quiet complicity, Vittorina is reminded of the constraints placed on strong women in her family and of the choices that once limited her aunt’s freedom. Escaping scrutiny and town tensions, the two defy expectations by spending an evening at the cinema — a fleeting, liberating act of rebellion that rekindles Vittorina’s sense of self. Yet the night’s fragile light fades as shadows reassert themselves: public violence, secret meetings, and the unsettling sight of Brunette embracing a dangerous man. Vittorina senses that darker entanglements are tightening around her family.
Chapter 9 - Love Sublime
Years after their first charged encounter, Brunette and Edmondo are drawn into a passion that blurs innocence and desire. Against the murmurs of the town and the weight of family expectations, Brunette struggles between restraint and longing, fascinated by Edmondo’s dangerous allure and the power he holds. One warm September night, she chooses impulse over caution, stepping into secrecy and claiming her own story. By the river, she crosses an irreversible threshold, embracing both intimacy and guilt. Returning home under cover of darkness, rosary in hand, Brunette accepts her transformation — no longer a child, but a woman shaped by desire, defiance, and the pride of having chosen her own becoming.
Chapter 10 - Virgo Fragilis
Waiting in line at the shoemaker’s shop, Vittorina seeks refuge with her sisters as her own marriage and home grow increasingly unstable. When Medea reveals gossip suggesting Pirì’s infidelity, Vittorina dismisses it with unsettling calm, exposing the emotional distance now separating the sisters. Left alone with her doubts, Medea follows the trail of rumours to the church, where a far graver truth emerges: Brunette is pregnant and terrified of Edmondo’s response. Their whispered confession is overheard, threatening public scandal in a town that thrives on judgement. As Brunette flees, Medea understands that her sister’s fragile womanhood must be protected by their eldest sister — Vittorina.
Chapter 11 - Tales from the River
Vittorina walks the riverbanks with Brunette, guiding her through the painful reality of her unplanned pregnancy and insisting on responsibility, urging honesty with Edmondo and their family. Brunette’s clandestine pregnancy strains family ties, but a fragile reconciliation emerges when she boldly asks cousin Rosina to be godmother to her child, softening the harsh judgment of relatives. Seeking reassurance, Vittorina pursues her personal rituals of memory and devotion, visiting her late brother Manetto’s grave, seeking guidance in the silence of the cemetery. Small, intimate town moments are intertwined with the weight of duty, social expectation, and grief, portraying the resilience and quiet courage required of women navigating both scandal and personal loss.
Chapter 12 - Ballad of the Withered Flowers
At the Bumbara household, Mariuccia and her daughter Giuseppa are absorbed in sewing and conversation, barely noticing Vittorina’s arrival, while the pale winter snow casts a quiet glow over the home. The household is cozy yet tense, a fragile warmth underscored by the looming absence of Pirì, whose return everyone awaits. As the day drifts into evening, Vittorina’s anxiety over her husband mounts. The neglected flowers in the corner, now dry and lifeless, mirror the fading domestic harmony, the “withered flowers” a quiet emblem of neglect, tension, and the passing of time. When Pirì finally returns from visiting his ailing sister, Vittorina’s suspicion flares into accusation, only to be checked by the truth of his compassionate visit.
Chapter 13 - Ashes
Vittorina and Pirì visit Angiulina in the hospital, sharing quiet moments of memory and comfort. The siblings’ laughter and warmth pierce the gloom, while Vittorina quietly bridges the family bond.
The Bumbara family faces the stress of selling their home, weighed down by debts and past arguments. Meanwhile, the scandal of Brunette’s pregnancy fades, leaving only respect and recalibrated family ties.
Grandmother Rusona’s death brings grief and reflection. Guided by her mother’s cousin Frazchìna, Vittorina performs a private ritual which connects her to her grandmother and allows her to say goodbye.
Returning to Pirì, Vittorina embraces reconciliation and the determination to rebuild their life, finding hope amid loss and the ashes of the past.
Chapter 14 - The Sleeping Town
Pirì and Vittorina’s eldest son Mario finishes his first school year, and enjoys freedom and simple joys, though small disappointments, like being denied a ride to the mountains, tempers his excitement.
Meanwhile, Giaza, the youngest Sért, struggled with life in the seminary and the rigidity of Villanova, plans a trip to the mountains with his sister Oldie. Back in town, Giaza encounters the mysterious old woman, Pavlàza, who speaks cryptically of his family legacy and warns him of a coming storm, telling him the town “must sleep.” Her strange authority and knowledge unsettles him, leaving him both fearful and curious.
Giaza, aware of his place in its strange rhythms, looks on, knowing he does not truly belong.
Chapter 15 - Solemnly
Nina, devoted to the nursery, considers becoming a nun — but her heart wavers at the thought of Mariètt, the young tobacconist.
While running errands through the bustling town, Vittorina and Nina cross paths with their cousin Agnese at Dinê’s shop. Agnese, bitter and envious, exchanges sharp words with Vittorina, highlighting old family rivalries, before they collect gifts and continue on.
At the cemetery, they honour the departed with roses, a quiet ritual bridging past and present. Pirì, Vittorina, and Giuseppa share grief and love, promising that the next child would carry Angiulina’s name.
Back home, Angiulina’s roses mysteriously appear in a vase, a silent tribute from someone — or something — that cherishes her memory.
