In Lacki roma, a destitute Roma settlement, the strange and stubborn Sanji is born to father Mari¨ka and mother Tereza. One night, Mari¨ka commits murder, stumbling home wounded with officers in hot pursuit. In the final hours of his freedom, he renames his son to Halgato and entrusts him with a family heirloom the mysterious White Crow violin, urging him to dedicate his life to its mastery. Mari¨ka is arrested, Tereza goes vagrant, and Halgato is left to fend for himself. The mother eventually returns home with Bumba¨, a new mate. In tow with his meagre possessions, Bumba¨ brings over his son Pi¨ti and daughters Ana and Fani, moving, with the blessing of the Roma community, into Tereza's old house. Halgato, hardened by a life of loneliness, finds in Pi¨ti a sudden friend and companion. Bumba¨, though, wants Pi¨ti to attend school in the city, and the family sends him there while he and Halgato tour taverns, playing music to pay for Pi¨ti's education. Halgato, once again estranged, finds out Pi¨ti has been seeing a girl he is secretly in love with. After a series of personal tragedies he is broken, seeking redemption in music.The story is tinged with sadness arising from the fateful condition of both the protagonists, Halgato and Pi¨ti. Their Roma heritage will never allow them to be accepted by the surroundings, and even their friendship is troubled and tempestuous. With his portrayal of the lyrical soul-searching aspect of the Roma spirit, Feri Lain¨?ek made a welcome break with the previous Slovene literary tradition, which often characterized the Roma as an embodiment of calculating mischief.

Writer, poet, and playwright Feri Lain¨?ek was born in Dolenci na Gori?kem in 1959. He studied journalism and now lives and works in Murska Sobota. He is a versatile author and explores different literary genres: prose, poetry, theatre plays, as well as puppet plays and radio plays. His first poetry publication entitled "Kot slutnja radovedno (Like a premonition, curious, 1981) was co-authored by the poets Milan Vinceti? and Valerija Pergar; this was followed by several collections of his own poems. Nevertheless, literary audiences are more acquainted with his novels and their stories, which stem from the Prekmurje environments. In addition to editing several collection of short stories (some as contributor), he has published numerous novels. Among the most acclaimed are "Peronarji (Platform People; 1982), "Raza (Crack; 1986 and 2004), "Namesto koga ro¸a cveti (Instead of Whom does the Flower Bloom, 1991), "Ki jo je megla prinesla (The Woman Carried in by the Fog, 1993), "Astralni niz (Astral Series, 1993), "Petelinji zajtrk (The Rooster's Breakfast, 1999), "Lo?il bom peno od valov (I Will Divide the Foam from the Waves; 2003), "Poema o ljubezni (A Love Poem, 2003), Muri¨a (2006) and "Orkester za poljube (An Orchestra for Kisses, 2013). With Du¨an ¦arotar as co-athor, Lain¨?ek published "Ob?utek za veter (A Sense for Wind; 2005) with the Franc-Franc Publishing. He also writes plays and books for children and young adults. His most renowned plays are "Samorastne¸i (Self-Growing People, 1986), "Impresarij (Impressario, 1990) and "Penzion Evropa (The Europa Pension, 1995), which was also produced as a radio play.His works have been translated into Hungarian, English, German, Croatian, Czech, Spanish, and Catalan. He also collaborates with numerous Slovenian authors and groups. In 1995, Lain¨?ek received the Pre¨eren Fund Prize for "Ki jo je megla prinesla and in 2006 the Kresnik Award for Best Slovenian Novel for "Namesto koga ro¸a cveti and Muri¨a. He also received the Ve?ernica Award for the Best Slovenian youth literary work for "Mislice (Little Thoughts), a collection of fairy tales, the Kajuh Award for Raza, the Vladimir Slejko Fund Award for "Astralni niz and the first award of Centre for Drama Art in Zagreb for his film script "?rni klovn (The Black Clown).