2026, GRIJALBO

At the dawn of the 20th century, many young Spaniards fled an impoverished country and embarked on an uncertain journey to the island of Cuba with the hope of building a future for themselves.

Ramón, the son of an Asturian fisherman, is one of them. His departure is filled with conflicting emotions: on the one hand, he regrets leaving behind Clara, the girl from a good family with whom he is in love and who loves him in return; on the other hand, his adventurous spirit drives him to seek his fortune far from home in order to be accepted by the girl’s relatives.

Life is not easy in Havana, and Ramón quickly realises that his dreams are fragile chimeras in this new land that tastes of freedom and opportunity, but also of hard work and tobacco. It is in the world of tobacco factories that he will find his opportunity, reading to the workers as they twist the precious leaves. Meanwhile, in distant Asturias, Clara is torn between her loyalty to Ramón and the pressure to enter into a marriage of convenience with someone she does not love.