Siblings Faruk, Metin, and Nilgün spend the summer of 1980, like every year, at their grandmother's seaside home. Each struggles with their fate: Faruk drinks and mourns his ex-wife. Metin dreams of a future in America. Sister Nilgün immerses herself in socialist ideas. And the grandmother fears that the truth about what she once did to her husband's illegitimate children will come to light. Then, a military coup looms on the horizon. Orhan Pamuk shines as a chronicler of these lost souls in a politically volatile time.