Central massif with the Pico de Almanzor, a ridge of nearly two hundred kilometers long, often covered in snow until spring. This is where the bank woman, whose adventures this novel recounts, sets off from a northwestern river port city. She intends to cross this mountain range and meet the author in the village of Mancha, with whom she has signed a classic supplier contract: She, the powerful puppet master with various names, who grew up with her grandparents in a Wendish village after her parents died in a fatal car accident, then traveled extensively and even starred in a famous film, pays the author and manages his financial affairs; in return, he tells her story according to predetermined rules. Digressions are allowed, and the only measure is: "to feel oneself being told.".