The Lies Saga (Saga Mentira)

Lie | Truth | Fear

Éric has grown up in a marginal world shaped by crime and deprivation; Xenia, protected by a family determined to shield her from danger. When they meet and fall in love, their two worlds collide. A bestselling saga about resilience and second chances, centered on two teenagers forced to grow up too soon.

Éric and Xenia come from completely different worlds. She has grown up under the protection of her parents, focused on her studies and sheltered from the dangers that exist beyond her immediate surroundings. He, by contrast, has been raised amid neglect, poverty, and crime, searching in the people around him for the family he never had.

When their paths cross, a relationship begins that must withstand distrust, prejudice, and the criminal past Éric is trying desperately to leave behind. But starting over is far from easy. One way or another, he remains connected to a world ruled by debts, revenge, and power struggles. No matter how hard he tries to escape, that world always finds a way back into his life, threatening everything he builds with Xenia.

Around them orbit criminals, police officers, friends, and broken families, all marked by their own choices and by a longing for a second chance. A saga about lies, truth, and fear, but also about friendship, love, and the possibility of beginning again.

In Lie, Xenia, a bright and responsible sixteen-year-old student, is accustomed to living under the watchful protection of parents determined to keep her safe. Her world changes when she meets a mysterious teenager on an online forum dedicated to books. Sharing a passion for reading, the two grow closer, and Xenia eventually falls in love with him. But when she suggests meeting in person, he disappears. Determined to uncover the truth, she investigates the identity behind the screen, only to discover that everything has been a lie.

Months later, Xenia receives a notebook from someone named Éric González Pascual. He is the boy behind the online profile, a lonely teenager raised in the marginalized neighborhoods of Barcelona amid abandonment, poverty, and delinquency. He is being held in a juvenile detention center for a crime he did not commit: he confessed to the murder of a young woman in order to protect Ben, the cousin who had cared for him like a brother.

Xenia hands the notebook over to a lawyer, and new evidence, uncovered after Ben is tragically murdered by a criminal gang, proves Éric’s innocence. When they finally meet face-to-face, the deception that once separated them becomes the beginning of a relationship built, this time, on truth.

In Truth, Éric regains his freedom after spending more than four years imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Yet life outside the detention center is far from easy. Without a job, money, or a place to live, he discovers that the apartment Ben left him has been taken over by the drug operation of the Medinas, a mafia clan well known in the neighborhood where he grew up.

Threatened by Horacio Medina and harassed by his associates, Éric once again finds himself trapped in the very world he is trying to escape. His only opportunity comes through Hugo, a blind teenager for whom he begins working as a reader, and Father Samuel, who offers him a home. At the same time, Sergeant Roig asks him to act as an informant and infiltrate the Medina organization. Éric agrees and risks his life in a high-stakes poker game that ultimately helps expose Horacio.

After recovering the apartment, Éric decides to sell it and make a definitive break with his past. But one final challenge remains: winning back Xenia’s trust. Her parents have forbidden her from seeing him. With Roig’s help, Éric manages to show them who he truly is. Xenia waits for him, and the two are finally reunited. For the first time, Éric can live without hiding and love without lying.

In Fear, Éric tries to build a normal life four months after regaining his freedom. He continues working as a reader for Hugo, who, frustrated by his dependence on others, attempts suicide. Determined to help his friend rediscover a reason to live, Éric devotes himself to supporting him. At the same time, his relationship with Xenia begins to deteriorate when jealousy convinces him that she is interested in another boy.

Meanwhile, the police reopen Ben’s murder investigation thanks to a video that reveals the possible perpetrators. Éric tracks down Marcelo López, the only witness capable of identifying those responsible, and persuades him to testify against several members of the Medina clan. Marcelo is murdered shortly afterward. At his funeral, Éric reconnects with his mother, Maite, who is gravely ill. She reveals that Horacio Medina abused her and that she never knew the identity of Éric’s father. Soon after, Maite dies.

The death of Nicolás Medina sparks a brutal war among the Medina siblings for control of the organization. Amid the chaos, Isidora Medina seizes the opportunity to become the new leader by eliminating her rivals. She then turns her sights on Sergeant Roig. Knowing that Éric remains in contact with him, she kidnaps the young man and uses him as bait to lure the police officer into a trap.

The operation leaves Roig seriously wounded and Éric locked inside a freezer, but both survive. In the aftermath, Éric reconciles with Xenia, while Hugo slowly begins to regain his independence. With his past finally receding into the distance, Éric realizes that he can begin building a future of his own.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Care Santos is a Spanish writer and literary critic. Holding degrees in both Law and Hispanic Philology, she has worked as a journalist for some of Spain’s leading newspapers, including ABC and El Mundo. Since beginning her literary career in 1995, she has established herself as one of the most acclaimed contemporary Spanish authors, publishing works across novels, short fiction, young adult literature, and poetry.

Her works have been translated into more than twenty languages and have earned numerous prestigious awards, including the Nadal Prize, the Barco de Vapor Prize, the Gran Angular Prize, the Edebé Prize for Young Adult Literature, the Ateneo Joven de Sevilla Novel Prize, the Alandar Prize for Young Adult Literature, the Ramon Muntaner Prize for Young Adult Fiction, and the Primavera Novel Prize. Several of her works have already been adapted for television.

The Lie Saga, whose first installment won the Edebé Prize for Young Adult Literature, has captivated more than 100,000 readers in Spain alone. The series masterfully blends elements of young adult thriller, romance, and drama, drawing its strength from the contrast between the deeply human journey of its compelling protagonists and the dangerous criminal world that continually intrudes upon their lives.

This combination creates constant tension and an addictive, fast-paced narrative with clear audiovisual potential capable of appealing well beyond a purely young adult audience.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“Care Santos knows how to carefully manage the information she reveals about her main characters, maintaining suspense and delivering a final twist that changes the course of their lives.” — Juntando más letras

“A story far more mature than one might initially imagine.” — Goodreads

“A story about teenage struggles, love, crime, prejudice… A saga that will captivate both young and adult readers.” — Boolino

“Once again, Care Santos demonstrates her remarkable ability to create richly complex characters.” — Rincón de Marlau

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Limited Series, Feature Film, TV Movie.

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Persian (Farsi), Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Turkish.