Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is a recently retired Argentine investigator/counselor with two obsessions: a horrific rape/murder case long concluded but not resolved because of the intervention of the dictatorship, and Irene Hastings (Soldedad Villamil), his former boss (now a judge) and permanent unrequited love. He begins to write a novel about the case and it leads him back to her, the twists and turns of the case, the effects of fascism on the Argentine judicial system, and his own empty life. Darin and Villamil sizzle with great screen chemistry during the first ¾ of the film, but the last ¼ becomes a bit gothic and melodramatic. Still the acting is good, the plot engaging, and the secondary characters (particularly Guillermo Francella as Pablo Sandoval, Esposito’s assistant) are both well drawn and well acted. Good work all around.