Mario Conte, as he approaches his sixties, seeks ways to overcome the personal crisis he is facing, but at the same time, he is increasingly concerned about the situation in his country. And then an unexpected job appears: an old classmate of his, Bobby, asks for his help and assigns him to find the statue of a Black Virgin that has been stolen from him. Conte discovers that this particular statue may be even more valuable than he has been told. Through his research, he will be led to the distant past, and he will even learn about the man who, trying to escape the Spanish Civil War, traveled as a stowaway to Cuba, bringing the Black Virgin from the Catalan Pyrenees.

Conte gradually immerses himself in the underworld of a collapsing dark Havana, encounters suspects and corpses, and at the same time, comes into contact with the incredible world of art dealers and collectors.
In his new amazing novel, Leonardo Padura tells an epic story that begins with the Crusades and reaches our days.
"He is the greatest writer of present-day Cuba. With steady steps, he is heading towards the literary pantheon where Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa are. And no one can stop him."