First published 1999
Esperanza Díaz lives in a small village in Veracruz, Mexico. She is deeply religious and recently widowed. When her twelve-year-old daughter Blanca disappears from the hospital after routine surgery, doctors tell Esperanza the girl died. But one night while cleaning her oven, Esperanza sees Saint Judas Tadeo appear on the greasy door. The saint tells her Blanca still lives and she must find her. Esperanza becomes convinced her daughter was sold into prostitution. She transforms herself from a modest widow into a prostitute to search the underworld without suspicion. She trades her sensible shoes for red spike heels and learns to act like a sex worker. Throughout her journey across Mexico's red light districts, she carries her box of saints, lights candles, and says novenas. This unlikely detective follows leads through brothels and back alleys, driven by maternal love and religious faith. Her quest becomes both a physical search for her missing child and a spiritual journey that tests everything she believes about sin and redemption.
Genres: fiction, drama, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: detective-story, fish-out-of-water, maternal-love, spiritual-quest
Setting: Mexico, Veracruz
Period: 20th-century
288 pages · Paperback · New Media Spanish Language
Content warnings: sexual-content, trafficking