Musa works at the post office in Damascus, but through strange coincidences, he becomes involved in inspecting and scattering letters, becoming addicted to this act. He stumbles upon collectors of ancient manuscripts, crossing a liminal space in time and finding himself in Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi's camp in Poitiers. At first, he is protected by the fear of others exposing something he didn't do, by the absurdity of life; but this absurdity soon drowns him deeper and deeper in its sea... until it almost kills him with a paper sword.