Chapters 1 - 3 Summary

The novel opens with the narrator, Martin Benn, looking back on what has happened in Argentina's recent past and the remarkable gift that his friend Carlos Rueda possessed during that time. His accomplishments would be easier to discuss if their culture more readily accepted the supernatural, but instead, Rueda's gifts are difficult to talk about and fully appreciate after the fact.

Benn describes a typical night in the garden at Rueda's house, where numerous individuals who have suddenly lost their loved ones, taken mysteriously by the Argentinian government, huddle together to hear what Rueda has to say about the events that took place. For some, the endings are not pleasant, but for others, there are remarkable stories. The story of Ruben and Clara Mendoza are one such example as they were told that their son, daughter-in-law and grandchild were taken, but...