When an airplane flies into the mountain on the Italian island of Ischia, Adolfo (the town butcher) and two companions loot the plane and bodies. They kill two survivors and then mutilate the bodies to scavenge more valuables. It’s 1947, the island is very poor and primitive, and the crash is seen as a gift from the gods.
At first, Adolfo reassures himself that anyone would have done what he did. But his doubts fester, and he is forced to accept that his soul has been stained. “I cannot undo what I’ve done,” he says in despair. “How can I ever live with myself?”
Adolfo is a victim himself, although he does his best to forget what was done to him. His feelings of anger and shame eventually slither out from the shadows, complicating his search to find redemption and regain his self-respect.
Brother Renato, a young priest, learns Adolfo’s secret. His challenge is to reconcile everything he’s been taught with his conscience and with what he learns about forgiveness and the island’s pagan culture.
The Presence of the Past is an exploration of guilt, forgiveness, and faith.
Inspired by a real event that showed people behaving at their worst – and their best – this is nonetheless a work of fiction.