In the 1930s, in an isolated valley of the Pyrenees Mountains, an aging teacher reconstructs a bloody and tragic event that seems destined to remain forever hidden behind a wall of collective silence. He alone can penetrate appearances and grasp the iron laws determining the lives of all those who live in the region—this valley where nature is miserly and leaves little room for poetic contemplation or an excess of feelings. He alone remembers his protégé, Ramón, a shepherd, who, no more than a child, fell in love with Alba, the only daughter of the region's most powerful and influential landowner. The rich and powerful conspire to thwart the love between Ramón and Alba, and in doing so they incite a feud that will extend beyond all reason. Thus begins a vigorous, dramatic story of rebellion and a heroic quest for freedom.
'If anyone ever reads this humble chronicle of the deeds both terrible and beautiful that befell a small town at the foot of the Pyrenees, let him know that they were penned by a school teacher who wants only to be at peace with himself. And that peace can come only from the truth, even if the people don't want to see it.'
