057 - part 3 - chapter 1 continued

In Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Vicente Blasco Ibañez weaves a gripping tale of two branches of a family rooted in the vast pampas of Argentina. At the center of the story is Julio Madariaga, a self-made cattleman who rises from poverty, embodying both extremes of human nature. He is honest yet cunning, proud yet generous, and his fiery temper often ignites conflict. Julio’s two daughters, married to a Frenchman and a German, carry his legacy into their respective homelands. As Europe teeters on the brink of chaos, the passions and prejudices of the old gaucho clash with the looming specter of World War I. An old Russian visionary, lost in drink, glimpses the harbingers of doom in a vivid dream—hoofbeats and riders heralding a turbulent future. --Summary by Tony Oliva, released to public domain.