A group of random people receives notice that they have won a cruise. Once they become passengers onboard the Malcolm, they find themselves tangled in the web of a mystery that is as symbolic as it is ludicrous. The feeling of detachment from one's normal life, typical of vacation cruises, motivates the travelers to undertake the search to resolve the enigma. The enthusiasm and freedom with which the characters dive into the game, and risks they take could only come from the imagination of one writer: Cortazar.