Peter, a young American student at Columbia University, yearns to visit Spain. After graduation, his dream comes true and he travels to Madrid where he strikes up a friendship with a Spaniard his age.

His new friend invites him to spend a few days in a small village in Segovia. Its New Years Eve and on the way they rescue an English woman whose car has broken down. They invite her to stay too and there follows an idyllic but short-lived few days together.

Meanwhile, in the immediate post-Franco era, the ETA movement is gaining recruits in its struggle for Basque independence. Rafael is a...