The body of a three-year-old girl is found on the side of the road in a pile of autumn leaves. At first glance, she was the victim of a careless driver - there were traces of a car at the scene of the incident. Suspicion falls on the young man, the best player of the local football team, the pride and hope of the entire city. But the further the investigation goes, the more mysteries arise. The tragedy grows, new victims appear... Only in the last pages does the picture gain clarity, and the reader learns a truth that he could not have predicted.

The books of the Irish writer Michael Collins, winner of American and European literary awards, have been translated into many languages and are widely known all over the world. The novel “Lost Souls,” which was shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, introduces Russian readers to the writer’s work for the first time.