It discusses the murder of Manuel Buendía, and derives its title from a solar eclipse that took place over Mexico on May 30, 1984, the date of his assassination.

[1] University of Wisconsin professors Russell and Sylvia Bartley researched and wrote their book investigating Buendía's murder over about thirty years.

[3] The book first examines the murder itself,[2] as well as the official investigation, and concludes that Pérez' conviction for the killing of Buendía was used to cover up the involvement of more senior Mexican officials, including, possibly, Mexico's Secretary of the Interior Manuel Bartlett Díaz.

[3] The authors discuss broader Mexico-United States relations, which they characterize as marked by "a political culture of institutionalized collusion.

"[4] Freije stated that she wished that the book included "More critical attention to Buendía’s complex relationship with political power",[4] as well as more information about Buendía himself and "the calculations that drove Mexican leaders to secretly support the Contras while publicly denouncing them.