A nameless assassin and a missing little girl. An old librarian who suffers memory loss and has to sell off his books to survive. And above all, the guest, the one who dominates the old man at times when he loses control. This novel, with its subtly interwoven plots, takes the reader into the miserable world of an old man with no family, surrounded by crime and unable to remember what he has done. It also shows us his tender friendship with a prostitute, his mental illness, and the investigation into the disappearance of a little girl who, with each passing moment, is less likely to appear alive.