Patagonia, 1960. Jose is on the run. Having fled from him homeland Germany, he has come to South America to continue his work - Jose is a doctor, who is seeking to manipulate genes to create the 'perfect' human race'. In the small village of Chacharramendi he first meets Lilith, a child he notices from the balcony of his motel and is instantly fascinated yet repulsed by. For Lilith has a growth defect, and the disproportionate size of her features represent all he is trying to exterminate from humankind. Yet, even more fascinating is the fact that her siblings are perfect examples of the Aryan race; tall, strongly built and fair. The anomaly of Lilith's existence fascinates him, and when he discovers Lilith's mother is pregnant, if he is not mistaken with twins, the temptation to involve himself in their lives and even interfere with the pregnancy is too much for him to pass up on. A cold, calculating but eerily charming man, Jose befriends Lilith and manipulates his way into the family. And so begins a dark relationship between the doctor and little girl, a kind of love that cannot end well. For Jose is actually Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, infamous for performing human experiments at Auschwitz and sooner or later his past is going to catch up with him.

"The sordid, thrilling, and comic story of two young lovers--affluent Lala and impoverished Guayi; examines the economic and social circumstances of Argentina and Paraguay to make sense of the characters' past choices and present misfortunes. Translated by David William Foster"--Provided by publisher.