Manuela Sáenz

In 1856 a whaler arrives in Paita Peru on board is Herman Melville who is astonished to learn that Manuela Sáenz for eight years the lover of Simón Bolívar is still alive He calls on her and although she will not talk to him about her life his visit sends her to her chest of Bolívars letters As she reads them the sepiatoned present gives way to flashbacks in color she meets the Liberator in 1822 becomes his lover and also becomes a colonel in his military movement to realize the Gran Colombia one nation across South America As plague brought by the ship closes in on Manuelas household so does her tempestuous story move toward Bolívars betrayal and death