Benitez opens the novel with a reference to two historical events in El Salvador around which the action of the novel centers. First, in March 1980 hundreds of people were injured or killed during the funeral for the beloved Archbishop Oscar Romero. According to Benitez, gunfire and explosions caused the crowd to panic and trample each other. Second, in May of the same year, 600 El Salvadorans (or campesinos) were massacred at the Sumpul River where they were attempting to cross from El Salvador to Honduras.  

The novel opens in El Salvador outside of a cathedral where the funeral for Monsignor Oscar Romero is taking place. Nicolás, a nine-year-old boy, and his mother Letty Veras are taken by surprise when explosions disrupt the funeral and create chaos. Nicolás and his mother are pressed against an iron barricade in full view of Archbishop Romero’s casket. When the bombs explode Letty grabs onto Nicolás’s arm and tries to scramble over the barricade. They are unable to move and Nicolás falls to the ground. His mother uses her arms and elbows to push people off of him and covers him with her own body. She speaks to him through the hysteria, repeating a prayer to Mother Mary.