Main character, Felipe Montero, a young historian who works part-time at a private school, earning a meager salary of 900 pesos per month. Despite having studied at the Sorbonne in Paris on a scholarship and becoming fluent in French, Felipe has been unable to find a well-paying job upon his return to Mexico.
One morning, while having his usual breakfast at a café, Felipe notices an intriguing advertisement for a live-in position. The job description seems tailored to his qualifications, as it requires a young historian with fluent colloquial French and offers a generous salary of 4,000 pesos per month. Although tempted, Felipe dismisses the ad, knowing that there are many other financially struggling historians who would also apply. He leaves the café, takes the bus, and goes to work as usual.
The next day, while having breakfast at the same café, Felipe spots the advertisement once again and decides to investigate further. Since there is no contact number provided, he must visit the location in person. The address leads him to Donceles 815, a colonial mansion situated in the historic city center, where very few people reside. Most of the old houses in the area have been converted into shops or small businesses.
Upon arriving at the correct address, Felipe enters a dark, covered patio, guided by a woman's voice to a room on the second floor. Following the instructions, he finds himself in a candlelit bedroom, where he encounters an elderly, frail woman lying in a large bed, accompanied by a rabbit. The woman appears to recognize Felipe and expresses her desire to publish her late husband's unfinished memoirs before her own demise. After requesting to review Felipe's credentials and finding him suitable, the widow proposes that he move into the house while working on the project. Initially hesitant, Felipe's decision is swayed when the old woman calls for Aura, her companion and niece, a beautiful young woman with green eyes, who mysteriously materializes beside the bed.
Intrigued by Aura, Felipe ultimately agrees to move into the mansion.
Aura leads Felipe to his room on the top floor of the house. Due to the perpetual darkness within the mansion, Felipe must rely on his sense of hearing rather than sight to navigate his way. However, his room stands in stark contrast to the rest of the house, as it is bathedin light from a large skylight. The space is adorned with vintage aesthetics, featuring wooden paneling and antique furniture. When Felipe looks into the mirror, he observes his own reflection, allowing the reader to examine his distinctive features: "thick eyebrows and wide lips," "dark eyes," "limp, dark hair," a "handsome profile," and "lean cheeks"(33).
After exploring his room and spending some time smoking, Felipe descends to the dining room for dinner. He briefly hears what he assumes to be the meowing of cats, but the sound soon fades away. Aura awaits him in the dining room, where the table is set for four people, despite only Felipe and the young woman partaking in the meal. Aura serves the food and informs Felipe that a servant has gone to retrieve his belongings.
Felipe finds it challenging not to fixate his gaze on Aura, as her face eludes his memory. When he takes her hand to give her a key to the drawer where he keeps his personal documents, Aura does not withdraw, leading Felipe to believe that his attraction might be reciprocated. He begins to indulge in fantasies of rescuing Aura from her somber existence and whisking her away to a better life.
Following dinner, Felipe visits Consuelo, who is found kneeling and praying before a collection of religious paintings. She appears to be engaged in a struggle with the images before her. Felipe assists her back to bed, and in return, she entrusts him with a key to a chest where she keeps various papers. Felipe retrieves the first bundle of the General's memoirs and informs the widow about a rat's nest in the corner of the room. Surprisingly, the old woman does not seem bothered by it.
Felipe immerses himself in the contents of the General's papers,
delving into the life story of the deceased individual. He discovers that the General spent his formative years on a hacienda in Oaxaca, ventured to France, returned alongside Maximilian I, and following the defeat of the French army, was exiled to Paris in 1867.
The next morning, Felipe is roused from sleep by the gentle rays of the sun at six o'clock. Upon awakening, he realizes that all his belongings are intact and properly unpacked. While preparing himself for the day, he becomes aware of the unsettling sounds of cats yowling. Intrigued by the commotion, he climbs onto the furniture and opens the skylight window, brieflyglimpsing outside. To his astonishment, he witnesses the distressing sight of seven cats writhing in flames within a nearby side garden.
Aura arrives to announce breakfast, and after the meal, Felipe seeks out Consuelo. Inquiring about the side garden, he is met with the old woman's adamant denial, claiming no knowledge of its existence and insisting that the converted patio is the only open space within their surroundings.
Felipe devotes the entire morning to meticulously working on the General's papers. He rewrites poorly phrased passages and carefully edits others, finding the task manageable. Recognizing that he has the luxury of time, he decides to prolong the assignment as much as possible. His ultimate goal is to accumulate 12,000 pesos, enabling him to dedicate an entire year to his personal research on the Spanish Golden Age and the colonization of South America.
During lunchtime, the old woman emerges from her room and joins Felipe and Aura at the table. Consuelo continues to talk, while Aura remains silent. It becomes apparent that the young woman is under Consuelo's influence and mirrors the behavior of the older woman. After lunch, the two women retire to the widow's bedroom. Curious, Felipe explores Aura's room, finding it devoid of decorations except for a large black Christ. Convinced that Aura is in need of salvation, Felipe believes that his passionate feelings for her make him her savior.
That night, Felipe experiences unsettling dreams involving cadaverous hands. He is awakened by the presence of a soft body slipping into his bed, assuming it to be Aura. They engage in a physical relationship, and before she departs at daybreak, she refers to him affectionately as her husband.
The following morning, Felipe struggles to awaken, feeling drained and
exhausted. After breakfast, the old woman hands him the second part of her late husband's papers. Initially intending to approach Consuelo about his desire to take Aura away, Felipe hesitates when he pushes the door slightly open and witnesses Consuelo embracing, biting, and passionately kissing a military jacket. Silently retreating, Felipe returns to his room.
In the second part of the papers, the General recounts the story of his meeting and falling in love with his young wife, who was only sixteen years old at the time. Described as possessing beautiful green eyes and consistently dressed in green attire, she captivates the General's heart. One day, the General witnesses her torturing a cat, but rather than beingrepulsed, he becomes aroused and engages in passionate lovemaking with her. Consuelo explains that the act of cruelty is a sacrifice made to preserve their love.
Felipe reaches a chilling realization that Consuelo keeps Aura around to maintain the illusion of youth. Filled with trepidation, he sets out to find the young woman and discovers her in the kitchen, decapitating a young goat without acknowledging his presence. Troubled by this gruesome sight, Felipe confronts Consuelo in the widow's bedroom. As he pushes the door open, he witnesses a ritualistic act resembling the skinning of an animal. Overwhelmed by what he has witnessed, Felipe hastily retreats to the kitchen, where Aura continues to skin the goat. In a state of shock and fear, Felipe returns to his room, blocking the door and descending into a dazed state. He is plagued by dreams of a woman crawling towards him on skeletal hands, with the image shifting from Consuelo to Aura's face.
Felipe is awoken by the sound of the dinner bell. His head throbs with pain, but he forces himself to get up and prepare for dinner. The narrator remarks that the order in which Felipe washes, brushes his teeth, and combs his hair is disordered and irregular.
Upon entering the dining room, Felipe finds only one place setting, with a peculiar little rag doll placed under the napkin. He begins to eat, using his right hand while holding the doll with his left. Suddenly, a sense of revulsion overcomes him, and he allows the doll to fall to the floor. Although Aura is expected to be waiting for him in her room, it is
still early in the evening. Consequently, Felipe decides to venture into the covered patio. Using his matches as a source of light, he illuminates sections of the garden and notices various medicinal plants and herbs, including henbane, nightshade, and belladonna.
When Felipe enters Aura's room, he finds her waiting for him, adorned in a revealing green taffeta robe that exposes her thighs, reminiscent of his dream. However, she appears different now, no longer a girl but a woman of forty. Her green eyes possess a hardened gaze, and her smile combines both sweetness and bitterness. She informs Felipe that they will engage in a game, where he need not do anything. Aura proceeds to wash his feet, taking him by the hand as they commence dancing. Gradually, they undress eachother until Felipe ceases dancing and begins to kiss Aura passionately. Crouched on the bed, Aura holds an object against her thigh, a thin wafer, which she breaks in half and offers one piece to Felipe. Overwhelmed by his emotions, Felipe declares his eternal love for her, vowing to remain devoted even if she ages and loses her beauty.
After their intimate encounter, Felipe drifts off to sleep. Upon awakening, he witnesses Aura walking towards the corner of the room, where Consuelo sits in darkness. The two women gaze at Felipe, smiling and synchronizing their head movements. They rise together and slowly walk toward the connecting door, leaving Felipe to slumber in Aura's bed.
When Felipe awakens once again, he finds himself alone. He heads back upstairs and takes a bath. Aura appears to summon him for breakfast, her face veiled. Felipe attempts to have a candid conversation with her about their situation and his intentions. He expresses his desire to take her away, believing that she is wasting her life in the dark confines of the house. Aura informs him that the widow will be away for the entire day and suggests that they seize the opportunity to escape permanently. However, Felipe hesitates, citing his contractual obligations as a reason to backtrack. In response, Aura proposes a meeting in Consuelo's bedroom that evening.
After the old woman, dressed in her wedding gown, departs for the day, Felipe enters her room to retrieve the final batch of papers and
some old photographs. In the General's writings about his time in France, he mentions significant individuals and events, but Felipe's primary interest lies in learning more about Consuelo. The General notes their inability to have children and describes how his wife becomes consumed by herbs and ultimately turns to narcotics, experiencing hallucinations centered around rejuvenating her youth. The memoirs conclude with the sentence, "even the devil was an angel once"(135).
Examining the photographs that accompany the papers, Felipe discovers images of Aura and the General. However, the inscriptions on the back identify the woman as Consuelo. Over time, Felipe begins to recognize his own features in the deceased man's countenance. Falling into another daze, he awakens to find darkness has already descended. Felipe descends to the widow's bedroom, calling out to Aura. She instructs him to lie beside her without making physical contact. However, Felipe cannot resist the urge to caress and kiss her.Illuminated by a moonbeam, he realizes that he is embracing not the youthful Aura but the corpse-like figure of Consuelo. In that moment, Felipe comes to the realization that he loves her and entertains the thought that he has returned too. The old woman informs him that she can only retain Aura for a maximum of three days at a time, but they will work together to bring her back.