After being driven nearly to madness by suffering a lifetime of abuse from a cruel and violent father, John O"Reilly goes to Mexico City for some relief. There, in a museum attached to an Aztec temple site, John is introduced to the beliefs and rituals of that ancient people. His mind, unbalanced by his misery, eagerly embraces the Aztec philosophy that there can be no rebirth without death, and he conceives the notion that his father must die the ancient sacrificial way for he, John, to be given a new beginning in life. He meets Juan, an Aztec descendant of a priest who fled ancient Mexico City when Cortés and his conquistadors overthrew it in 1523. Utterly devoted to the ancient gods and the rituals that worshipped and placated them, Juan is forced to sell Aztec handicrafts to tourists to earn a living. Juan sees in this meeting an opportunity to revive the old ways. Perhaps then the gods would be happy and return Mexico to its rightful inhabitants.