"Chaviano presenta en esta novela un mundo pleno de erotismo y magia: una Cuba mi stica y desconocida, pero a la vez dra sticamente actual, donde la poli tica se opone a la pasio n al instinto, en una tierra de shamanas y de espectros que vagan diciendo la suerte a aquellos que logran descifrarlos"--Container.Two friends meet after many years and begin to discuss their problems. Ruben, an art professor expelled from his teaching position, sells leather goods to tourists, while economist Gilberto works as a butcher. Planning to leave Cuba someday, they reminisce about the women they loved but have lost. Claudia had an art degree but was also expelled from her job in a museum after vehemently opposing the sale of art works. La Mora was a single mother who unwillingly resorted to prostitution in order to feed her child.