In the land of the Zapatistas, Augusto Pinochet, and Fidel Castro, what are the stories Latin Americans have been telling to confront their troubled past? The film travels to 5 Latin American cities, to meet with famous crime novelists Leonardo Padura (Havana), Luis Sepulveda (Santiago), Paco Ignacio Taibo II (Mexico City), Santiago Roncagliolo (Lima) and Claudia Pineiro (Buenos Aires). Through their stories, we discover a unique genre of flourishing literature, strikingly different from its North American or Nordic counterparts: it's political, dark, and crimes are committed by the state itself.