Santiago, a political prisoner in Uruguay, finds solace only in the lengthy letters from his wife Graciela. She, exiled along with their nine-year-old daughter and her father-in-law, struggles to adapt to a new country while keeping alive the hope and passion that connected her to her husband. As the years pass, prison, exile, and distance change both of them, and Rolando, Santiago's best friend, becomes increasingly valuable to Graciela.

Mario Benedetti (Uruguay, 1920-2009), "one of the most important Latin American writers, equal to many to Márquez, Fuentes, and Cortázar" (The Washington Post), composes "a tender portrait of a family shattered by historical circumstances" (Publishers Weekly). A polyphonic novel of exile, "wise and compassionate" (The New York Times), the only one he wrote while being a political exile.