In 18th-century Spain, a moving story of friendship, passion, and revenge unites two female voices in a song torn by the desire for freedom.

January 1748. A black woman wanders the streets of Seville. She has abandoned her son and fled a past of slavery in Cuba. Caridad no longer has a master, but she also has nowhere to take refuge. Then she meets Milagros Carmona, a young Gypsy from Triana with the blood of rebellion running through her veins. The two women become inseparable, and amidst zarabandas and fandangos, the Gypsy confesses to her new friend her love for the handsome and arrogant Pedro García, from whom she is separated by old family feuds. Meanwhile, Caridad struggles to suppress her feelings for Melchor Vega, Milagros’s grandfather—a defiant, roguish, and seductive man, but also a firm defender of honor and loyalty.

But when a royal decree brands all Gypsies as outlaws, Milagros and Caridad’s lives take a tragic turn. Although their paths diverge, fate will bring them together again in Madrid, a city where smugglers and actors, nobles and villains converge; a Madrid that surrenders to the passion emanating from the voices and dances of this race of barefoot princes.

Ildefonso Falcones invites readers on a journey to a thrilling era marked by prejudice and intolerance. From Seville to Madrid, from the tumultuous bustle of the Gypsy quarters to the stately theaters of the capital, readers will enjoy a historical fresco populated by characters who live, love, suffer, and fight for what they believe is right—a faithful reflection of men and women who never bowed their heads and raised their voices to challenge the established order.