As Melquiades excites Buendia's father with new inventions and tales of adventure, neither can know the significance of the indecipherable manuscript that the gypsy passes into their hands. The tribulations of the Buendia household push memories of the manuscript aside. Few remember its existence and one will discover the message that it holds.

Sierva Maria appears completely unscathed after being bitten by a rabid dog. But as rumours of the plague spread, everyone puts her survival down to a demonic possession. Only the young priest charged with exorcising the evil spirit recognizes the girl's sanity, but can he convince the town that it's not her that needs healing?

As the citizens of a Caribbean nation creep through the corridors of the presidential palace in search of their tyrannical leader, they cannot comprehend that the frail and withered man laying dead on the floor can be self-styled General of the Universe. This title traces the demands of a man whose egocentric mask the loneliness of isolation.

Fermina rebuffed Florentino Arizo and married Juvenal. Florentino has loved none but Fermina. Having sworn his love to her, he lives for the day when he can court her again. When Fermina's husband is killed, Florentino seizes his chance to declare his enduring love. But can young love find new life in the twilight of their lives?

General Simon Bolivar, 'the Liberator' of five South American countries, takes a last melancholy journey down the Magdalena River, revisiting cities along its shores, and reliving the triumphs, passions and betrayals of his life. Infinitely charming, prodigiously successful in love, war and politics, he still dances with such enthusiasm and skill that those watching cannot believe he is ill. ...

He has never married, never loved and never gone to bed with a woman he didn't pay. But on finding a girl naked and asleep on the brothel owner's bed, a passion is ignited in his heart and he feels the urgent pangs of love. Each night, 'Delgadina' sleeps whilst he watches her quietly. His love for her deepens.