A series of murders take place in 16th-century Seville, where the plague has taken hold; a condemned man faces the Inquisition as he attempts to save the son of a friend by speaking out.

During a terrible plague epidemic in 16th-century Seville, the corpses of several murdered people are found as an omen of the end of the world. Seville was one of the main cities of the Western world. Known as the Great Babylon, it was home to people of all races, where 50 different languages were spoken, and all the gold from America arrived into its port. It was one of the smelliest, most beautiful cities in the world, and the setting for this unique, character-driven thriller.—Movistar

The Spanish Empire begins to become a memory of the past. The city of Seville, which for a long time was a strategic enclave for Europe because of its access by the Guadalquivir River to the lands of America, begins to decline. The old feudal order breaks down and in the middle of the sixteenth century the transition to the Renaissance and the bourgeoisie shakes the pillars that governed the Western world for 10 centuries. The plague ravages Europe, and Spain is not spared. Hospitals cannot cope, brothels are increasingly monitored, and convents less. In the homes of the nobles, the only thing that prevails is hedonism and seizing power. In the midst of an atmosphere suffocated by mistrust and betrayals on the order of the day, Mateo must discover the perpetrator a series of diabolical crimes committed against the high places of Sevillian society. Otherwise, he will not find the forgiveness of the Holy Office and the Inquisition will decide to bias his life.

Five years after the last Black Death epidemic, Seville has managed to recover and even prosper. Far from Seville, in the New World, Mateo receives a letter from Teresa. Valerio has been threatened to death by "La Garduña" and asks him to come back to help him. His life is in danger.