Two large, wooden doors led to the open courtyard surrounded by concrete walls twelve feet high. It resembled a fort from Cuba's glory days as a Spanish satellite, used to successfully defend itself against foreign enemies. The executioners kept no secrets; the grounds and walls were stained with blood from previous atrocities. The Buendia Family had it all going for them. The patriarch of the family, an accomplished university professor, and his loving wife had created a paradise under the palm trees of glamorous Havana with its incessant nightlife. Little did they know that their world of comfort and luxury would come crashing down. This family story framed by the turbulent Havana of the 1950s is a tour de force for anyone interested in the evolution of Cuba as the playground of the Americas.