Book Three, The Horseless Rider, begins in 1697 in the valleys close to where the bodies of Book One’s lovers lie. Don Ignacio Larrarte del Castillo is a Spaniard, and the Marquis of Surba and Bonza. He is both magistrate and maverick, brokering trade deals between the local Muisca and the Spanish rulers further north on the Bacata Savannah. His district duties encompass the Santa Clara la Real convent in Tunja. Its Mother Superior is a distant cousin of the second Spanish king, and subsequently her needs and those of her sisters, are paramount to the welfare of the region. Don Ignacio, married with a son, finds himself in love with the young Muisca nun, Zara. From the night of their elopement, they spend the next seven years eluding their pursuers. When they finally begin a life together in peace, it is cut short by death.