The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Bazterrica, Agustina. Tender Is the Flesh. Pushkin Press Limited, 2020.

Agustina Bazterrica's novel Tender Is the Flesh is set in a dystopian society. Following the outbreak of a virus infecting animals, the society designs a solution to their lack of meat: breeding and slaughtering human beings for food. Written from the third person point of view, the novel traces the life and internal conflicts of the protagonist, Marcos, as he tries to reconcile himself with his new cultural context.

After Marcos's son Leo dies, his wife Cecilia moves out of their home. Ever since her departure, Marcos's living space has felt empty and absent of life. Although Marcos is still grieving, he has trouble confronting his loss and thus healing from it.

In order to tamp his sorrow, Marcos endeavors to focus on his work. He holds a position of power at Krieg Processing Plant. The plant is responsible for the slaughtering of human meat, euphemistically deemed head or product. Because of the graphic nature of his work, Marcos perpetually feels at odds with his vocational responsibilities. However, he also feels incapable of abandoning his work merely to live out his beliefs. This is because Marcos is responsible for his elderly father's care.

After his father Don Armando had a mental breakdown, Marcos moved him to an expensive residential facility called New Dawn Nursing Home. Marcos has assumed the financial burden of Don Armando's care, because his sister Marisa refuses to help. She constantly uses her children as an excuse for failing to visit Don Armando or to contribute to his care.

One day, a Krieg client called El Gringo sends Marcos a gift: a female FGP. The female specimen is of a pure class of head, and is meant to show Gringo's appreciation for his company's relationship with Marcos's company. Rather than feeling grateful, Marcos feels irritated by the gift. He is unsure what to do with the female, as he feels incapable of slaughtering her for meat and disinterested in inseminating and breeding her.

Whenever Marcos is upset, he visits an abandoned zoo not far from New Dawn. Visiting the zoo calms him down and reminds him of his father.

During a call with Cecilia one day, Marcos finally tells her how he feels. Although he understands her pain, he reminds her that he lost their son too. Instead of comforting him, Cecilia bursts into tears. After he hangs up, Marcos realizes Cecilia may never recover from Leo's death.

When Marcos returns home, he chops up Leo's old cot. Then he lights it on fire. He catches the female watching him. The following morning, while observing the female sleep, Marcos feels aroused by her body and scent. In order to avoid the temptation, he races to Spanel Butchers and has sex with the owner Spanel.

At the zoo one day, Marcos finds a litter of puppies in the serpentarium. When he returns home, he washes the female. Then he undresses and decides to have sex with her although it is forbidden.

After impregnating the female, Marcos names her Jasmine and domesticates her. Whenever he leaves for work, he locks her up, afraid she will escape and others will discover what he has done.

Not long later, Marcos's father dies in his sleep. Marcos has him cremated and scatters the ashes at the zoo. Despite her lack of involvement in Don Armando's life, Marisa insists upon hosting a farewell service. At the service, Marcos verbally attacks her for her contradictions and inauthenticity.

When he returns home, Marcos discovers that Jasmine's water has broken and the amniotic fluid is off-colored. Realizing that something is wrong with the baby, he calls Cecilia for help. Because she is a nurse, he implores her to deliver the baby like a professional instead of judging him for his indiscretions. After the baby is born, the couple refuses to give him to Jasmine. They claim the child as their own. Marcos stuns Jasmine and tells Cecilia he must kill her.