The Cains (Los Caín)

In rural Spain during the 1970s, a young schoolteacher assigned to a village divided by ancestral hatreds becomes trapped in a web of secrets, vengeance, and buried crimes — where asking about the truth could cost him his life.

In the 1970s, Somino, an isolated Castilian village, lives under the weight of a fierce rivalry between the Llano (farmers) and the Teso (hunters), a feud so ancient that no one remembers how it began. The point of no return came decades earlier with the death of Arcadio Cuervo, father of Josefina and Elvira, buried at night with a poorly sealed tombstone — a symbol of wounds that never healed.

Years later, the death of Antonia Lobo, known as “the Black One,” a 19-year-old who supposedly died in a car accident while fleeing the village, reignites the conflict. The Lobo family is one of the most powerful in Somino, and everyone fears Severo, Antonia’s father, and his brother Ezequiel. The delayed, rumor-filled funeral coincides with the arrival of Héctor Cruz, a young schoolteacher from Madrid. A stranger and a government employee, he soon feels the town’s hostility. When mutilated deer begin to appear in emblematic locations after Antonia’s death, tension between the factions worsens. Were they poisoned? Did they die of disease? Who placed them there? No one knows — and no one dares to explain — but everyone suspects.

The Civil Guard, absent from Somino for years, returns with officers Sisinio Calleja and Patricio Codesal to investigate. The village closes itself in a wall of silence and turns against Héctor, accusing him of informing on them. He faces sabotage, stones thrown through his window, and constant surveillance by the Cuervo sisters, owners of the telephone exchange, who spy on calls and spread division. Among his few allies are nurse Sofía León and her son Miquel, untainted by inherited hatred. The rancor also manifests in petty revenge between both factions — plowed fields destroyed overnight, vandalized graves, and quiet acts of vengeance that deepen the divide.

Héctor learns that another death, years earlier, had shaken the town and inaugurated the era of fear and silence: the death of Esther, an eight-year-old girl who allegedly drowned in the village pond, the “buchina,” despite knowing how to swim. She was buried in haste by several villagers, including Arcadio. The reason: to avoid questions. As they were avoided again at Arcadio’s funeral — and at Antonia Lobo’s.

As the school year ends, tensions reach a breaking point. Amid chaos caused by a forest fire, Héctor — who had spoken too openly with a neighbor, Sagrario “the Antillean,” about the pond and Esther’s death — is warned that Severo and Ezequiel Lobo are coming for him, possibly to kill him. He flees down a path guarded by the Civil Guard, passing a blackened house scrawled with the word “traitors,” a remnant of the fire that drove “the Antillean” out of town. Héctor leaves Somino with a mixture of relief and sorrow.

Years later, on her deathbed, the mother of “the Antillean” confesses that Esther was murdered and buried in secret. Her husband, Eutiquio, confirms that Severo “El Cejas,” patriarch of the Lobo family, ordered the nocturnal burial to avoid questions. Arcadio Cuervo was present and died months later under suspicious circumstances, buried with the same haste. Josefina bribed the gravedigger to prevent an autopsy, perpetuating the mystery. Who was responsible for his death? No one. Everyone. Or perhaps the village itself. The Antillean’s parents were expelled years ago as “traitors”; their house was burned down and later taken over by the Lobo family’s shady businesses — the same family responsible for the “poison” that killed the deer.

The deaths of Antonia, the old grudges, and the chain of crimes buried under complicit silence remain unresolved. A newspaper article later reveals that Somino became a Castilian hub for heroin trafficking. Could that explain the town’s violence and endless feuds? In Somino, no one forgets or forgives: the half-closed graves are reminders that the past remains open, and violence and resentment will continue to mark its people.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Enrique Llamas is a Spanish writer specializing in communication and visual arts. He contributes regularly to various media outlets and writes about literature and theatre. His debut novel Los Caín earned him the Silverio Cañada Memorial Prize for Best First Crime Novel.

The Cains is a novel that sits between dark rural realism, thriller, and social drama, set in 1970s Spain. Its fragmented structure interweaves past and present, gradually revealing the secrets that unravel the mystery. It’s a story of latent tension, with a deliberately slow rhythm that sustains suspense through a succession of disturbing and violent situations.

The novel has strong audiovisual potential as a tense rural thriller with a large ensemble cast and multiple timelines. It connects with contemporary rural dramas such as The Beasts (As bestas) or Marshland (La isla mínima), combining social critique, mystery, and a universal reflection on inherited resentment. The story contains moments of high dramatic and cinematic impact.

Press reviews:

“From the very first lines, we quickly understand that we won’t be able to put The Cains down: it helps us see what we were in order to understand what we are.” — Guillermo Altares, El País

“A writing that envelops the reader — a territory of honesty and harshness driven by characters balanced between tenderness and flint.” — Antonio Lucas, El Mundo

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Film

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish