Known in English as Conversation in the Cathedral, this large novel begins with a chance meeting between two men in a Lima bar during the dictatorship of General Odría in the 1950s. Over several hours they talk, and their conversation opens onto the lives of many others, from politicians and police to servants and journalists.
The story moves back and forth in time, tracing how corruption and fear seep into every level of society and shape personal choices. It is a demanding, richly layered portrait of Peru under authoritarian rule and is widely seen as one of the author's major achievements.