About This Book
The novel takes place at the William Teller Clinic in New York City and at the same time in Badua, Italy. Marianne has lost her newborn and is being treated for an ensuing depression at the hospital clinic. Simultaneously, she is on a train to Badua with her husband, Mark. They meet a stranger on the train who invites them to stay at his brother's villa at Badua.The fog stops all travel and forces the Baduans to their homes. The mayor and the Town Council meet to decide on how to dispel the fog. In the meantime at the villa, Marianne encounters two disturbing elements: One is the rape of Tina, the serving girl, by the Greek. He is a traveler also lost in the fog and given a room by Paolo, the father of the three children, and the owner of the villa. The second disturbing element is Perino, one of Paolo's children, who has developed cuts on his hands that don't stop bleeding.The mayor and the Town Council try to eliminate the fog and its effects upon the Baduans by a Wind Machine, a hypnotist, and a festival. All are unsuccessful. At the same time, Actuala, mother of Perino, seeks a sorcerer's help for her son when the doctor is unable to stop the bleeding.The priest is killed by the enraged Baduans when he tries to stop them from killing Bernardo, a writer, whom they have taken to blame for the fog. They blame him because of a poem he had written for the newspapers. But the newspapers have remained unread since the day the fog started. And Bernardo's poem was never published because the printing presses were smashed the first days of the miasma.With the death of the priest, the fog begins to dissipate. And Marianne starts to recover from her depression.
