Our hero, Gonewiththewind, has once again been released by the police from a lunatic asylum in Barcelona. This time his mission is to recover a briefcase filled with money lost under very peculiar circumstances. Mysteries and mishaps follow each other at breakneck speed, as the hapless detective delves beyond humor and the absurd to the frontiers of the truly surreal. Eduardo Mendoza was born in 1943 in Barcelona. He spent some years in New York working as an interpreter for the United Nations. His other novels include No Word from Gurb and The Mystery of the Enchanted Crypt (both available from Telegram).