The story develops along fairly straightforward chronological lines. On occasion, readers learn of an omitted detail or a concealed revelation through flashback — as with the details of Marcelo Desnoyers' life — or through the recollection of one of the characters. Karl von Hartrott, for example, had to leave Germany and start a new life in Argentina because he had been involved in a minor financial scandal that put an end to his military career. Readers hear this from his brother-in-law Desnoyers, many years after the event. The book also contains the figure of the wise and mysterious Russian, Tchernoff, who adds depth and a degree of omniscience to the otherwise not very introspective figures in the plot.

In selecting the themes and characters for this book, Blasco Ibanez sought to create personalities and situations that could fit into and serve to exemplify very specific historical events. It...