This book includes four narratives from South America's past:

In 1750, a sailing ship with a cargo of slaves from West Africa destined for Brazil was caught in the horse latitudes' doldrums with disastrous consequences for everyone on board. The slaves rebelled against their inhuman conditions including being shackled, but the uprising was quelled. When the wind finally started blowing again, an ostracized tribal member from the Amazon rainforest was encountered at sea and added to the cargo.

In 1872, the poor, illiterate and orphaned Simón Patiño was struggling to survive. Years later, by luck and cunning, he became the proprietor of a property that turned out to be the most prosperous tin mine in the world. Thanks to his shrewd manipulations, reinforced by bribes, he eventually managed to dominate Bolivia's exports and become one of the richest persons in the world.

In 1931, the astute founder of a growing crime organization in Rio de Janeiro came up with an idea to enrich himself further. To his great surprise and satisfaction, his promotion of a samba school competition made a lasting impression, which continues to this day. But while he was successful creating the most famous carnival in the world, his scheming didn't work out as planned when he confronted his main competitor to determine who would rule the Rio underworld.

In 1972, Paraguay's dictator Alfredo Stroessner fought for a year to solve several simultaneous and apparently impossible challenges against his interests. How could he avoid the suspension of the yearly million-dollar aid from the USA, if he didn't give up the heroin trafficker Auguste Ricord? If he gave up Auguste Ricord, would the army generals on Ricord's payroll launch a coup against him? How could he explain the gruesome fate of the two German scammers to the ambassador? In what manner could he get rid of Josef Mengele, who some years earlier had paid handsomely for a Paraguayan citizenship?