"Mendoza's novel deals with the deterioration in Colombia as a result of the corrupting power and wealth of the drug mafia. Set in Barranquilla, the protagonist returns from Paris in search of friends and relatives. The novel compares the sophistication of established families to the tastelessness of the ascending rich. An acerbic view of the mafia's role in Colombia in recent years"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.