Born in Paris, Jacinto - the hero of The City and the Mountains - is the heir to a vast estate in the Alentejo in Portugal, which he has never visited. Jacinto lives in a beautiful mansion crammed with books and the latest gadgets. He mixes with the creme de la creme of Paris society, but is monumentally bored. One by one, his gadgets let him down. And then he receives a letter from the estate manager in Portugal: the bones of his ancestors are to be moved to the new chapel - would he like to be there? With great trepidation, Jacinto sets off with his best friend, the narrator, on a mammoth train journey. When they arrive, the huge old house is a wreck, all Jacinto's luggage has been lost, but for the first time in ages he eats a hearty meal and sleeps the sleep of the just on a straw mattress on the floor. Jacinto has the house renovated, sets about improving conditions for his farm workers, and what he discovers in simple country life upends his expectations deliciously.