The book is set “Somewhere in the Americás, many years after once-upon a time” (3) in the fictional village of Santa Maria. School is out for the summer and Max, an 11-year-old budding fútbol player accompanies his father, Papá, across a bridge that Papá has built which overlooks Santa Maria. While Max dribbles his ball across the bridge, he makes up stories and contemplates his life’s big topics like growing up and why his mother left when he was younger.

A large tower rises above Santa Maria’s landscape. People call the tower La Reina Gigante (Giant Queen) since it resembles a queen chess-piece. Abandoned palace ruins surround the tower. Legend says the ruins are haunted by spirits of hidden ones, who took cover in the tower while escaping a dictator in the nearby country of Abismo. Papá is a stonemason and the only villager who has permission to access the ruins, since he uses the rocks for building bridges. Max hopes his father will start letting him come along to visit the ruins now he is older.

A peregrine falcon passes Max and Papá as they walk home, filling them with awe.