La frontera dormida

On a cold night of December 2005 an old Nazi officer, who hides himself under the false identity of Germán Hornos, dies in the village of Canfranc (on the border between France and Spain). The night before, and under secret of confession, he has told father Guzmán, the young priest of the village, about his true identity and his past. Father Guzmán is also left in charge of delivering some documents.

Patricia Hernando, a police officer from the Arts Brigade, is amazed when she discovers that the old German kept a painting by Vermeer, the existence of which has always been under suspicion. Without realising, father Guzmán and agent Patricia Hernando see themselves involved in an unfinished business of European History. And now they know too much to keep on living in peace, because the information they have had access to is highly coveted by influential groups of high political, religious and economical power.

With a gripping rhythm, this novel takes us, through its characters memoirs, to a time in which the understanding between Franco and Hitler made possible that the international station of Canfranc became a ‘sleeping border’. A dangerous place that that served as a backdrop for many hidden events, and where members of the Resistance, Nazi officers and allied spies coexisted in tension.