Learning that he is dying of tuberculosis, self-styled ladies' man Juan Carlos is doted upon by the women in his life including his mother, sister, and two girlfriends, who fail to see that their own lives are crumbling in their adoration for Juan.

Manuel Puig is the acclaimed author of many novels, including Betrayed by Rita Hayworth, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Buenos Aires Affair. He was born in Argentina in 1932 and died in Mexico in 1990.