' An ash – grey dog with a white blaze on its forehead burst on to the rough terrain of the market on the fırst Sunday of December.'

When a witch doctor appears on the Marquis de Casalduero's doorstep prophesizing a plague of rabies in their Colombian seaport, he dismisses her claims-until he hears that his young daughter, Sierva Maria, was one of the four people bitten by a rabid dog, and the only one to survive.

Sierva Maria appears completely unscathed-but as rumours of the plague spread, the Marquis and his wife wonder at her continuing good health. In a town consumed by superstition,, it's not long before dhey, and everyone else, put her survival down to a demonic possession and begin to see her supernatural powers as the cause of the town's woes . Only the young priest charged with exorcizing the evil spirit recognizes the girl's sanity, but can he convince the town that it's not her that needs healing?

' Superb and intensely readable' TİME OUT

' At once nostalgic and satiric, a resplendent fable' SUNDAY TİMES

' A conpassionate, witty and unforgettable masterpiece' DAILY TELEGRAPH