A powerful social satire which outraged the authorities of the author's native Peru, where 1000 copies were publicly burned.The novel is set in Leoncio Prado Military Academy in Lima, where a group of cadets attempt to break out of the vivious round of sadistic ragging, military discipline, confinement and boredom. But their pranks set off a cycle of betrayal, murder and revenge which jeopardizes the entire military hierarchy.