Set in Ilhéus, a small town in Bahia in the 1920s, the novel unfolds against the backdrop of a community striving for “progress.” Once a sleepy town, Ilhéus is booming thanks to cacao plantations. New roads, newspapers, and grand mansions signal development, but old attitudes - particularly around gender and power - remain deeply entrenched.

Every year, more than two million revellers attend the world’s biggest party in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.