Montserrat Curiel

Montserrat, the central protagonist of the novel, works as a freelance sound editor at a studio called Antares in the midst of Mexico City. Although Montserrat is preternaturally talented at her work and tends to put in overwhelming amounts of effort, she is routinely passed over for opportunities so that the male director of the studio can reward his male friends for their obsequiousness. She also struggles to capture the attention of her long-time best friend, a television star named Tristán, whose rugged good looks make him popular among other women and prevent him from taking Montserrat seriously as a romantic prospect.

Montserrat's tenacity and drive quickly prove valuable elements in her struggle to undo the evil of Wilhelm Friedrich Ewers, an occultist Nazi whose spell Montserrat inadvertently reactivates when she dubs over an old silver nitrate film. While Tristán often flags in the face...