This book describes the Timorese people's extraordinary capacity to forgive as the most surprising thing author Felix Neto encountered there, something he had never seen elsewhere, despite having witnessed a wide variety of conflicts. Whether some special capacity to forgive is peculiar to the Timorese, their willingness to extend it to their former enemies is not only magnanimous but wise. The willingness to forgive is a precondition for reconciliation. Reconciliation, in turn, is a precondition for achieving peace. If the current and successive generations are to live in full freedom, respectful of others' rights, it has to begin with forgiveness.