Mario Conde investigates a murder in the Barrio Chino, the rundown
Chinatown of Havana. Not his usual beat, but when Conde was asked to
take the case by his colleague, the sultry, perfectly proportioned
Lieutenant Patricia Chion, a frequent object of his nightly fantasies,
he could n't resist. The case proves to be unusual. Pedro Cuang, a
lonely old man, is found hanging naked from a beam in the ceiling of his
dingy room. One of his fingers has been amputated and a drawing of two
arrows was engraved with a knife on his chest. Was this a ritual
Santería killing or a just a sordid settling of accounts in a world of
drug trafficking that began to infiltrate Cuban society in the 1980s?
Soon Conde discovers unexpected connections, secret businesses and a
history of misfortune, uprooting and loneliness that affected many
immigrant families from China. As ever with Padura, the story is soaked
in atmosphere: the drinking of rum in deliciously smoke-filled bars, the
friendships, the food and beautiful women.