"Conspiracy theories are like climbing plants, Vásquez: they cling to anything to climb up, and they keep climbing until you take away what supports them."

In 2014, Carlos Carvajal is arrested in a museum in Bogotá for stealing the fabric suit of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the liberal political leader who was assassinated in 1948.

Carvajal, haunted by his mysterious past, constantly searches for clues that will give meaning to his quests. However, no one, not even his closest circle, can suspect the deeper reasons behind his obsession.

What connects the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, whose death shaped the history of Colombia? How can a crime that took place in 1914, the assassination of the leader of the Liberal Party, Rafael Uribe Uribe, mark the life of a person in the 21st century?

For Carvajal, everything is interconnected and there are no coincidences. Juan Gabriel Vásquez, as the narrator and central character of the novel, decides to delve into the secrets of the darkest aspects of Colombia's past.