In the English-language debut novel of one of Mexico's most poignant writers, a man guilty of a minor offense finds himself caught between the tedium of his temperate city and the growing menace of crime there. After an accident-or "the misfortune," as his cancer-ridden father's caretaker calls it-Eduardo is sentenced to a year of community service reading to the elderly and infirm. Stripped of his driver's license and feeling impotent as he nears thirty-five, he performs his duties without comprehending what he reads, and walks the city of Cuernavaca. Once a quiet town known for its lush gardens and swimming pools, the "City of Eternal Spring" is now plagued by robberies, kidnappings, and the other myriad forms of violence bred by drug trafficking. As he enters into the homes and lives of his listeners, Eduardo becomes entangled in a series of sinister events that will place him unexpectedly at the center of this complex community of people who occupy so much of his time.