Amparo Seoane, the mayor of the Galician town of Cedeira and the most powerful woman in the area, is murdered. Investigating the crime will become an obsession for Maite, a civil guard sergeant, and for Tomás, the only witness to the murder. For Maite, searching for the murderer is an obligation. For Tomás, a Literature professor without many life horizons, it is the opportunity (possibly the last) to live a story like the ones he is passionate about reading, and perhaps thus be able to tell it.

Cedeira prepares for the traditional 'rapa das bestas', perhaps the last if the mine project is approved. After being removed from the case, Maite feels so out of place that she agrees to collaborate with Tomás in her private investigation.