One morning, the police are horrified to discover a body impaled on a sharp stake by the banks of a scenic lake near Bogotá. Journalist Victor Silampa becomes curious and enlists office clerk Emir Estupiñan to help him with the story. Together they set about to solve an intricate puzzle that proves as macabre as it is fascinating. With the help of a young prostitute and the officer in charge of the case, Victor and Emir manage to get to the bottom of a real estate fraud scheme involving corrupt politicians, emerald hunters, nudists and journalists of every stripe.