In this magical story of love and art, life and death, Carlos Fuentes entwines two narratives- one tells of the passion of orchestra conductor Gabriel Atlan-Ferrara for red-haired Mexican diva, Inez Prada; the other of the first encounter in human history of a man and a woman. Berlioz's music for 'The Damnation of Faust' brings Atlan-Ferrara and Inez together, and continues to resound on every page of this haunting work. At the same time, the emergent love of neh-el and ah-nel - the original lovers - reminds us of the Faustian pact of love and death. The link between these two stories is a beautiful crystal seal that belongs to Atlan-Ferrara, who is obsessed by its meaning. Maybe this ancient and seductive object gives its bearer the ability to read unknown languages and hear music of impossible beauty. Inez takes place in two eras, one deeply remote and one perhaps yet to come, but the passions evoked in both transcend the limits of time and space.