'It was the fourth time he had travelled along the Magdalena, and he could not escape the impression that he was retracing the steps of his life' At the age of forty-six General Simon Bolivar, who drove the Spanish from his lands and became the Liberator of South America, takes himself into exile. He makes a final journey down the Magdalene River, revisiting the cities along its shores, reliving the triumphs, passions and betrayals of his youth. Consumed by the memories of what he has done and what he failed to do, Bol?var hopes to see a way out of the labyrinth in which he has lived all his life. . ..