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One night in 1988, the elderly Anglo-Peruvian magnate Clayton Archimbaud welcomes Mirko Lauer, a journalist and literary critic, to his San Francisco home under the auspices of discussing the life of his cousin, the writer Miranda Archimbaud. As the night and the effects of the alcohol wear on, however, the conversation devolves into a series of confidences revealed by the older man as he recounts his younger days in Cerro Azul, a Peruvian fishing hamlet, during the 1920s and his initiation into life--that is to say, into sex and death. As he tells his story, Archimbaud uncovers details that shed light on previously unanswered questions, such as Was he or was he not his cousin Miranda's lover? Did he or did he not murder a servant? and Who is Clayton Archimbaud, really? A striking work of noir fiction, this novel contains a series of lively and literary mysteries where topics such as voyeurism and cross-dressing, rather than being merely provocative elements, are essential components of a plot that is as fascinating as it is unsettling.

Una noche del 1988, el anciano magnate anglo-peruano Clayton Archimbaud recibe en su hogar en San Francisco a Mirko Lauer, un periodista y crítico literario, bajo los auspicios de recrear la biografía de su prima, la escritora Miranda Archimbaud. A medida que avanzan la noche y los efectos del alcohol, sin embargo, la conversación deriva hacia las confidencias por parte del anciano, que recuenta su juventud en Cerro Azul, un pequeño pueblo pescador, durante la década de los 1920 y su iniciación a la vida--esto es, al sexo y a la muerte. Mientras relata su historia, Archimbaud descubre detalles que arrojan luz sobre preguntas que hasta ahora se han quedado sin responder, como ¿Fue o no amante de su prima Miranda? ¿Mató o no aquel criado? y ¿Quién es realmente Clayton Archimbaud? Una muestra destacada de la ficción negra, esta novela está llena de misterios literarios y vitales en los que el voyeurismo y el travestismo son, más que elementos provocativos, piezas esenciales en una trama tan fascinante como perturbadora.

Mirko Lauer is the director of the Peruvian cultural magazine Hueso húmero and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Latin American Studies, published by Cambridge University Press. The author of Órbita, Tertulias and Tapen la tumba, he has also been named a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture.