Mortu nega, literally "the one death did not want," is a term that originally referred to a child who survives his stillborn siblings, but has come to symbolize the survivors of the fight for Guinea-Bissau’s independence. Set in 1973, the story follows Dominga as she journeys to join her husband, Sako, a liberation fighter. While her path to the front reveals the ravages of five centuries of colonialism, her return home promises to be set amidst the joy of hard-won freedom.