Selected for the Elle magazine Prix des Lectrices and the Prix de France Télévisions

Eleni works as a chambermaid in a tourist hotel on the island of Naxos. She leads the simple but dreary life of an island woman, mother of two teenage children and wife of a mechanic she married at eighteen who loves her deeply but spends all his spare time out with his friends.

She tastes freedom only when she cleans the rooms alone every morning, dreaming of another life… One day by accident she knocks over a chess piece from a match in progress. Unexpectedly, her life is turned upside down: to the great displeasure of her own family, she develops a passion for the game. She hides the meeting she has each week with her former professor Kouros, now an old man, who teaches her the gambits. To everyone else's surprise, she shows real talent and, with the support of Kouros, challenges herself by participating in a tournament in Athens.

With a great sense of narration that includes both humorous and emotional moments, the author brilliantly depicts the transformation of a woman from shy and unfulfilled to emancipated and self-aware.