Two young writers who grew up in the shadow of the huge chimney of a copper refinery in Rouyn-Noranda speak out. They refuse to be lulled by the songs of gold that have silenced the people who built the city and enriched the foundry owners for many decades. They subtly and poetically illustrate the love-hate relationship they maintain with the " piles of slag and copper." This passionate dialogue has hit Quebec bookstores like a tornado and will echo in mining towns across North America.

The title is inspired by the Marguerite Duras book Hiroshima Mon Amour and the film by Alain Resnais.