Set in on the island of La Española (modern-day Dominican Republic and Haiti), the story begins with a devastating fire in a Taíno Indian village near Santo Domingo. All the inhabitants, who had recently been baptized, perish in the blaze.
: Jambrina portrays the harsh reality of the encomiendas and the decimation of the indigenous population due to exploitation. El Manuscrito De Aire Luis Garcia Jambrina epub
: Critics have noted that the novel pays homage to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and its cinematic adaptation Apocalypse Now . Rojas’s journey up the Ozama River into the jungle to find the villainous Lope de la Cruz mirrors Marlow’s search for Kurtz. Set in on the island of La Española