In this world, and in other possible ones, a man never knows the future awaiting him. The same is true of novels, all of them, and also of many of their characters.
Osman Recio, the despotic hero of this adventure is a step from rising to the highest, most privileged social strata of a society so hierarchical that any form of divergance is criminalised and any form of behaviour which does not conform is seen as suspicious. At that moment, just a step away from glory, his life falls apart before his very eyes.
In the face of this tragedy Osman Recio discovers that everyone around him acts as if they already knew the secret of his disgrace. Obsessed with this mystery, he makes wild guesses and stumbling attempts to adapt to the new times awaiting him.