Jana is a Mapuche, one of those 'people of the earth' who roamed the South American pampas for over two thousand years before being dispossessed in 1910 by the Argentinean constitution and transformed overnight into outlaws. Long black hair, big almond-shaped eyes, ravishing features, she is sculptor of a rare and undiscovered talent. When her best friend Miguel, a.k.a. Paula, a transvestite who works as a prostitute down at the docks, goes missing, Jana turns for help and protection to private investigator Ruben Calderón.
Calderón is a grizzled investigator who served time following the coup d'état of March 24, 1976. Since then he has been working tirelessly for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, searching for any trace of los desaparecidos and their odious tormentors.
Jana and Calderón's hunt for the truth takes them into the corrupt, beating heart of the Argentinian political system. They will have to face up to a dangerous cabal of rich politicians and businessmen who will stop at nothing to maintain their hold on the reins of power.
After South Africa (Zulu) and New Zealand (Utu), Caryl Férey focuses his prodigious talents on South America. His novels are at once gripping, instant classics in the noir tradition and passionate indictments of political and social injustices.
