The author poetically intertwines fact and fiction to retell modern Nicaraguan history. The opening line of a famous poem from legendary Nicaraguan poet Ruben Darío serves as the title of and the inspiration for this novel. It begins with the imaginary visit of Darío to Leon, Nicaragua, in 1907. There he writes the famous verse on the fan of a nine-year-old girl. Fifty years later, the same girl and her sister play a role in the plot to assassinate the dictator Anastasio Somoza.