In which the steady presence of the San Tome mine brings a peculiar order and stability to the unrestful province of Sulaco, marked by the singular figure of Don Pepe, the watchful governor of its rugged domain, whose soldierly care extends to every miner and every village. Amongst the flickering lamps and whispered politics, the lives clustered round the mine—miners, exiles, and foreign administrators—forge a fragile peace beneath an ever-watchful mountain, where echoes of ancient wilderness meet the organised clatter of modern industry.