The central Mediterranean told as a great epic: from prehistoric men who stood on its shores, gazing at those dark and menacing waters without ever finding the courage to cross them, to the first peoples who lashed logs together and ventured across; from the obsidian traders and their rituals to the mysterious civilizations of the Bronze Age; and then, in a crescendo, the conquests of empires, the raids of pirates, the migratory flows moving north to south – like the Italians in Libya – and those heading south to north, like the thousands of people today who undertake perilous crossings in search of a new life, or even just survival. Balancing the exact storytelling of the experienced journalist with the strong voice of a new true writer, Luca Misculin carries out an historical core sampling, narrating this stratification of peoples, individuals, and stories, consulting experts and visiting places that he makes us "see" as if we were right there beside him. At the same time, he tells us of the Mediterranean today – its islands and ports, its migratory birds and the submarine cables that cross it, as well as some of its most inaccessible locations, such as abandoned military bases, bunkers, and oil platforms. He takes us all the way to Lampedusa, allowing us to experience from within a reality that is often spoken about only to make it easier to ignore – people risking their lives hoping to find better ones far away from home – and finally allowing us to start to comprehend something that is both fascinating and urgent.