Author(s): Carlos Fuentes

Fiction

Phillip II of Spain, the Defender of the Faith, is tired and ill. Years of fighting the infidel, excessive takes and the plague have taken a toll on his subjects. At a time where castles are giving way to cities, Phillip seeks refuge in the place he had built to become his final dwelling: the Escorial. Suddenly three mysterious men bearing a cross come to him; one talks about a new world, a paradise of cities, volcanoes and pyramids, where cruelty, pain, and death ruleand the Defender of Faith discovers the time to rest has not come yet"