The main character of the novel, Carlos is the head of the Children's Theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has a beautiful wife Cecilia who works for the local newspaper, La Opinion, and a daughter named Teresa. When Cecilia is taken by the government after writing a sharp, critical article in La Opinion, Carlos feels distraught and lost. However, he starts to realize he has an extraordinary gift when he hears one of his actors talk about the sudden disappearance of his father, Raimundo Garcia. Carlos tells Enrico, the actor, what has happened to his father and predicts that he will return shortly to the family.