A story of an isolated farming community, a love story and the crime of sheep stealing. A small-town lawyer called Bustianu is persuaded to defend the fugitive young man, Zenobi, who is on the run after being accused of sheep stealing by the family of the girl he is in love with.

The Advocate is a story peopled with characters rooted in the ancient landscape and religious and political history of Sardinia. Semi-feudalism is thrown into question when a romantic attachment is formed, and the all-important inheritance of land is threatened by an unsanctioned marriage. The church quietly exerts its power in the background while, around and above them, all the powerful landscape and its sometimes brutal weather offers a richly dramatic background to this tale of love and injustice.

Written by Marcello Fois
Translated by Patrick Creagh
Read by Brid Brennan and Stephen Hogan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 Show less