Bolano sets the action of this novel in Rome, the backdrop for extreme characters who wander between unease and madness. The young protagonist, Bianca, after the sudden death of her parents, begins a descent into the back of beyond. In a test from the magazine Donna Moderna it asks: If you had to kill someone, who would it be? She answers: Anybody. Accompanied by her brother and by two mysterious men, Bianca enters into the adult universe, and into the worst and most intriguing aspects of sexuality and deceit.