After suffering a heart attack, retired General José Mendieta is haunted by his dark past as an officer in Operation Condor, the CIA-backed campaign of political repression in Latin America that was responsible for executions, torture, and imprisonments in the 1970s. It is estimated that over 400,000 people were imprisoned and 30,000 forcibly disappeared as a result of these government actions. In a letter to his son Pablo, Mendieta confesses the role he played in the abduction, persecution, and execution of countless men and women during his posting to Chile.