Plot summary

The story, set in 1999, is told in flashback form: in June 1974 a federal justice agent, Benjamín Espósito, becomes spellbound by and subsequently entangled in the investigation of the crime of a young woman, brutally raped and murdered inside her house in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood. Her widowed husband, bank employee Ricardo Morales, is shocked by the news; Espósito vows to find the killer and bring him to justice. In his ordeal he is aided by his alcoholic assistent Pablo Sandoval and a newcomer, the upper class lawyer Irene Menéndez-Hastings, who takes over as department chief. Espósito's rivaling partner Romano pins the murder on two immigrant workers so as to get rid of the matter - an issue that enrages Espósito, who attacks Romano in a fury.He finds a tip soon enough while looking over some old pictures provided by Morales: he comes across a dubious young man - identified as Isidoro Gómez - who looks at the victim in a suspicious way in several photos. Espósito investigates the whereabouts of Gómez, and determines that he is living and working in Buenos Aires, but fails to locate him.Espósito and Sandoval break into Gómez's household in the city of Chivilcoy, hometown not only of Gómez, but also of Morales's ill-fated wife. During the illegal search, they (unwillingly) steal a set of letters