A dazzling novel of Machiavellian intrigue and comedy by the master of Latin American fiction.
Mexico in the year 2020. A country without power, literally - no phone, no fax, no email, no satellite communication - because the president, unaccountably putting principle before realpolitik, has offended his northern neighbour, by keeping the price of Mexican oil high and demanding the removal of US troops from Columbia. And in these days, thanks to the greed and incompetence of his predecessors, the US just happens to supply his country's electricity through a Latin America friendly corporation in Miami and has turned off the supply.
In a country where no one ever puts anything in writing, letters become the only way to communicate. Overnight, the true motives, feelings and private lives of the politicians lie suddenly and brutally exposed. Especially now that everyone knows the only important political question of the day is: Who will be the next president, the next to ascend the eagle's throne?
As each character jockeys for position in the race to identify and ally themselves to the new president, the letters fly ever faster, wittier and more mendacious. Who will it be? Maria del Rosarios's protégé and would-be lover, the handsome Nicolas Valdivia? Her bitter rival Tacito de Canal. Or ex-ex-president Cesar L on? And how will the bets be placed when the punters run from the president's special adviser; the chief of police and the head of the army, to a pair of scheming congressmen, Tacito's plump lover, or Nicolas's many of either sex? And does Maria really back her prot g , to whom she has promised her favours once he is president, or will she hedge her bets? These and many other questions will all be answered before the last letter is posted and power restored.
