woman named Lucia (better known throughout the novel as la Maga), who has disappeared. The relationship between the two is passionate but asymmetric: la Maga, of a passionate temperament, is in love with Horacio, who is more analytical and cold, while he seems to not want to get emotionally involved with her. Oliveira enjoys her company, but he is a man with a privileged education who adores intellectual discussions, while she is less educated than him and barely able to participate in these discussions. Both meet frequently with their mutual friends, the members of a group nicknamed "Club de la Serpiente" (Club of the Snake). This is a circle of artists, writers, and musicians that drink and listen to music while discussing art, literature, philosophy, architecture, and other subjects. In their discussions, they frequently mention a writer by the name of Morelli, who insists on the necessity of breaking with the linguistic forms of the moment. The group jumps from one topic to another with relative ease, but la Maga, who is not as well-read as the others, generally needs the others to explain the subjects at hand. Her vivacity distances her from the group, foreshadowing her eventual separation from it. The club, however, shows affection toward Lucia, but almost always in a condescending manner. Horacio and la Maga had been living together for some time at the beginning of the narrative, but Rocamadour, the baby of la Maga who is in the care of a nanny in the countryside, becomes ill. La Maga has to bring him to live with her and Horacio. Rocamadour's health is too delicate to improve in the cold and cramped apartment, but la Maga is terrified by the idea of sending him to a hospital. This leads the infant to become gravely ill. Meanwhile, Oliveira increasingly resents the situation, because he had not agreed to live with a baby. During a fight, Horacio tells la Maga that she can consider their relationship to be over. La Maga bursts into tears. Oliveira leaves the apartment, possibly with the intention of visiting Pola, a lover of his. He is unsure whether he will return or not. Later, while wandering the streets without any fixed destination, Oliveira witnesses a car running over an older man. Another witness states that the victim is a writer who lives near the site of the accident. An ambulance arrives to pick