In the nineteenth century, the Papal Council was studying the canonization of Christoph Columbus as a saint. With his discovery of the New World, he doubled the area of ¿¿land that Christianity could reach, but the large hall discussing the matter was full of supporters and opponents of this canonization, as well as real-life figures and invisible ghosts. What would be the final decision? In this novel, the writer starts from a real event, and takes us centuries back to read what Columbus himself wrote about his travels. The writer presents us with a new picture, removing the legendary aura that history has given to this character. In this novel, which is the last novel written by Carpentier, he plays the string, the hand, and the shadow, all of which once again confirm this writer's ability to merge history with art, and reality with the imagination, in a unique style.