life of Manolo Traveler, Horacio Oliviera's friend from childhood, who lives in Buenos Aires with his wife Talita. Although Traveler is restless, the marriage appears to be on solid ground until Gekrepten, Horacio's old Argentinian lover, informs him that Horacio is due to arrive by boat. The news fills Traveler with a dark sense of foreboding; nonetheless, he and Talita greet Horacio at the docks, where Oliveira momentarily mistakes Talita for La Maga. Horacio then settles with Gekrepten in a hotel room located directly across the street from the flat Traveler and Talita share, where his mind slowly begins to unravel. Traveler and Talita work for a circus, and when Horacio's temporary employment falls through, Traveler arranges for his old friend to be hired on there as well, though not without misgivings. Oliveira's presence has begun to disturb him, but he is unable to determine why. He wishes to ascribe it to Horacio's flirtations with Talita, but cannot do so, as there seems to be something more going on. And anyway, he has no doubts about his wife's remaining faithful to him. Unable to decipher the mystery, and unable to tell Horacio to leave them alone, he begins to sleep less and less, and his sense of restlessness increases. Horacio, meanwhile, observing the relationship between Traveler and Talita, who more and more reminds him of La Maga, endeavors to enter more intimately into their lives, but he is unable to do so. His frustrations increase, and he begins to show signs of impending mental breakdown. One hot afternoon, he spends hours on the floor trying to straighten nails, although he has no particular use in mind for them. He then convinces Traveler and Talita to help him build a makeshift bridge between the windows of the two buildings over which Talita can cross. Traveler indulges his friend's eccentric behavior, but Talita is frightened and must be prodded into participating. She feels it is a test of some sort. In the end, Talita does not cross between the buildings. Soon after this incident, the owner of the circus sells the operation to a Brazilian businessman and invests in a local mental institution. Traveler, Talita and Horacio decide to go to work there despite the irony of the situation, or perhaps because of it. Horacio jests that the patients in the hospital will be no more mad than the three of them,