"Originally published in Dutch in 2015 as De Ijsmakers by De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam"-- Title page verso.

In the far north of Italy lies the valley of the ice-cream makers: about a dozen villages where, for generations, people have specialized in making ice cream. Giuseppe Talamini claims it was actually invented here. Every spring his family sets off for the ice-cream parlour in Rotterdam, returning to the mountains only in winter. Eldest son Giovanni Talamini decides to break with this tradition by pursuing a literary career. But then one day his younger brother Luca approaches him with a highly unusual request. Now Giovanni faces a dilemma: serve the family's interests one last time or choose his own path in life, once and for all.