Set in Santa María, an imaginary provincial town on the banks of the River Plate (reminiscent of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County), Body Snatcher a tragicomic novel of grotesque ideals and lost illusions, recounts two attempts at self-fulfillment, two Promethean stories by turns. Larsen, a boldly original pimp of weary whores, tries to establish the perfect brothel; passionate Julita, a mad widow, refuses to accept the death of her husband by taking his younger brother as her lover. In their sordid, self-righteous society, which pits stupidity and lust against honor and love, both characters are doomed for failure.