The novel is three stories in one: the story of Juan Capistrán, an orphan destined to live a quixotic life in search of adventure and heroism; the life of Froylán Gómez, a man who will forever be in love with the fantasy of a woman; and the almost-true story of the town of Tula, once prosperous but in a mountain location impossible for a train to ever reach, even with the construction of Tula Station.