The film is based on a story by the Argentine writer, Adolfo Bioy Casares.
[1] The film explores the thwarted romance between Julio (José Luis Gómez) and Paulina (Geraldine Chaplin).
In pre-war Madrid, Julio, a shy writer fails to communicate his feelings towards Paulina, the woman he loves.
A heartbroken Julio leaves Madrid for Cambridge but is shocked at what he discovers when he returns.
The shocking truth is that Paulina has been dead for many years, murdered by her lover in a jealous rage after seeing Julio off on his journey to Cambridge.