Only when vultures circle above the presidential palace do the residents of a Caribbean state dare to penetrate the center of power. There, they find the dead dictator, who died at an age between 107 and 232 years, covered in lichens and adorned with deep-sea creatures. Starting from the gruesome end of the patriarch, hated by the people yet revered as a charismatic figure, the novel spirals through time, recounting the rise and fall of a dictator and the loneliness of power. Full of biting satire, both real and fantastical - this novel creates an atmosphere that gets under your skin. A life in the solitude of power, terror, and usurping arbitrariness are the themes of this fantastic novel about a Latin American tyrant.