The Stuff of Dreams

Three friends. One dream bigger than themselves: to create their own destiny, one stitch at a time.

Thirteen-year-old Nina has finally left the orphanage behind to begin what seems like the opportunity of a lifetime: an apprenticeship at one of Milan’s most prestigious fashion ateliers. She dreams of beautiful fabrics, elegant dresses and, one day, becoming a seamstress herself. Reality is very different. Endless working hours, freezing workshops, hunger, humiliation and a ruthless forewoman quickly shatter her illusions. Everything changes when Nina discovers the piscinine—the name given to the hundreds of orphaned and working-class girls who kept Milan’s thriving fashion industry running as apprentice seamstresses, errand runners and delivery girls. Forced to work long hours for little or no pay, they begin gathering in secret every Sunday to imagine something they have never been allowed to dream of: dignity, education, fair wages and a future of their own. Inspired by the mysterious Torinese, Nina finds the courage to raise her voice, helping spark what would become Milan’s first children’s labour strike. But as the movement grows, so does the danger. Hidden interests, betrayal, violence and the disappearance of one of her closest friends reveal a conspiracy far darker than anyone imagined. To save those she loves—and the future they are fighting for—Nina will have to risk everything.

A story by Book on a Tree