The house on the frontier is a bar, a rooming house and a general store next to the French customs post at Puigcerdà. It has belonged to the Grau family since they acquired it at the end of the 19th Century. On the day of her retirement, as she is turning off the shop lights for the very last time, Carme reflects on the life of her family - from her great-great grandparents to her children - and remembers, without nostalgia, the history of the house. With a well woven reconstruction of historical events; moving from the present to the past; and playing with the double perspective of reality and fiction, Rafael Vallbona has written a novel as intricate as choral music that maintains our sense of intrigue and emotional involvement with this land and its personalities - with their hopes and dreams, their desires and their fears - who have left their mark on the history of their country.