Description

Dragged by force from his village in the Bolivian highlands, Carlos Obregon is thrown into the Chaco War with little training and incompetent officers. Fighting in an unforgiving wasteland, Carlos needs all his resources to survive as the Bolivian Army suffers defeat after defeat. At war's end he swears to remedy the injustice done to him and his fellow soldiers. At La Paz, Carlos participates in a secret army lodge which overthrows the civilian government. After a promising start, the military junta falls back into the corruption of the previous regime, and Carlos realizes he must assume power in order to make real progress, even if it means betraying his Commanding Officer. Carlos begins an affair with an attractive blond German, who has traveled to Bolivia seeking news of her husband, reported as missing in action during the war, but who was killed by Carlos. The situation becomes even more complicated when Carlos' best friend falls in love with the same woman. The novel recreates the chaos of the Chaco War, the turmoil in Bolivian politics which followed, the disaster of the Catavi massacre of miners, interwoven with a tragic love triangle, betrayal of friends, and an explosive revolution.