Sitting on the stoop of the old house he’d built many years before, Achille mourns the recent death of his beloved Adela. Reminiscing about their life together, Achille comes up with the idea of taking his sweetheart’s ashes from their home in the Ottawa Valley region back to Newfoundland, her native earth, to which she had always longed to return.

Will the tumultuous waters of the Ottawa River, the Saint Lawrence and its estuary, prove too great a challenge for Achille’s courage and determination? And what of those who endeavour, in the name of order and the common good, to prevent him from accomplishing his mission? Achille’s quest is a search for individual freedom, a moving appeal to tolerance, common sense, as well as respect for the values and potential of every individual.

A native of the Ottawa region, Georges Lafontaine has worked as a journalist since 1979. He was owner of the radio station CFOR-FM, and of the Maniwaki newspaper La Gazette for nine years. He also has worked as a political attaché, a position he currently holds in the office of the M.N.A. for Gatineau. He is very attached to his part of the country, where he continues to live with his spouse Adela, his inspiration for Ashes on Ice.

Georges Lafontaine's profile page

• Winner, Le Grand Prix de la Releve Litteraire Archambault