WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE A tale of two cities--Piura and Lima--rocked by scandal, and the disintegrating bonds of loyalty between the generations Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa's novel follows two fascinating characters whose lives are destined to intersect: neat, endearing Fel cito Yanaqu , a small businessman in Piura, Peru, who finds himself the victim of blackmail; and Ismael Carrera, a successful owner of an insurance company in Lima, who cooks up a plan to avenge himself against the two lazy sons who want him dead. Fel cito and Ismael are, each in his own way, quiet, discreet rebels: honorable men trying to seize control of their destinies in a social and political climate where all can seem set in stone, predetermined. They are hardly vigilantes, but each is determined to live according to his own personal ideals and desires--which means forcibly rising above the pettiness of their surroundings. The Discreet Hero is also a chance to revisit some of our