In this collection of short stories, Federico Falco portrays a series of characters who confront the bewilderment of everyday life amidst rural landscapes, shaky beliefs, and shifting relationships. From the construction of a cemetery that symbolizes a village's pride, to the spiritual and sexual dilemmas of a teenager, to a father's fear of the advance of modernity, to a hermit who communicates with nature, and to a woman who receives dream messages from her deceased husband, each story combines the unusual with the intimate. A finalist for the Herralde Prize with Los llanos, Falco here confirms his place as a powerful and singular voice in contemporary Latin American narrative.