Maria owns an eccentric business: her clients pay her to come up with ideas for presents. She spends her days thinking about how best to wrap up love. Nicola, her boyfriend, a wealthy pilot ready to settle down, seemed the perfect catch. But in this book, what is left unsaid is uncannily prominent. In fact, Nicola's anxiety turns into sharp body aches at night and a constant need to check Maria's phone messages. Maria never finds the keys to enter their apartment, nor the courage to leave it. After she killed her sister, 25 years ago, reproach in her mother's eyes is ever-present. But in 24 hours, an unexpected event turns everything upside down. Maria realises that she has a job she does not want, a partner she does not manage to leave and the power to decide who she wants to be. Thirsty Sea is a psychological portrait of all the insecurities and challenges of a young woman in a restless search for her own place in life. AUTHOR: Erica Mou (Apulia, 1990) studied Literature, Publishing and Journalism at the University of Bari. She is an Italian singer-songwriter with numerous international awards. Thirsty Sea, winner of the Readers Award of the Lungano Literary Festival 2020, is her debut novel. Erica wrote this book in the kitchen of her rented accommodation in London.