A young man tries to uncover the truth behind a shocking murder that took place nearly thirty years ealier, looking to the town's residents to rebuild the events of the crime and try to determine why no one stopped the killer when everyone seemed to know his intentions.
Florentino Ariza engages in hundreds of liaisons over the course of fifty-three years, seven months, and eleven days while waiting to finally possess Fermina Daza, a woman who promised him her love but jilted him in favor of another.