The novel by Juan Gabriel Vázquez, the most famous contemporary writer in Colombia, “the heir of Márquez,” as the press calls him, has everything that quality literature suggests: a sharp twisted plot, psychological drama, tropical flowers and smells, uneasy love relationships. Colombia is still recovering from the government's brutal war with Pablo Escobar. People are still dying on the streets of Bogota. Young law professor Antonio Yammara witnesses the murder of former pilot Ricardo Laverde and begins an investigation. The scenes of the novel excite the imagination: a murdered hippopotamus from a drug lord's zoo, a former prisoner in tears listening to a tape, a plane crash... And yet the book tells not only about fear and pain, but also about friendship, loyalty and the happiness of the birth of a child. A great Colombian novel about overcoming the traumas of the past. The book is published in two versions of translations into Russian, with different titles and covers. The publisher provides the reader with a unique opportunity to choose his own translation. This book was translated by Masha Malinskaya, translator, teacher of Spanish, and author of textbooks.