The focal point of the stories is Padura's Havana. Everything we know from his novels is there: the bolero, the heat, the bars where rum runs out on Christmas Eve, the small apartments with water stains on the ceilings, the applause from the baseball stadium, the aromas from all the open kitchens facing the street. Padura transforms everyday scenes of this turbulent city into short, dense narratives that often capture the tragedy of an entire human life. These stories are the first Carta blanca on the rocks for anyone who is not yet familiar with Padura. His readers discover many new facets of a familiar cosmos.