"The Ornate Reptile" is the story of a social reform, within which an educated Irish woman, Kate, a characteristic bearer of the European way of life, surrenders to the love of a Mexican military man with a strong will for power.

The novel begins with a bloody bullfight, which ends for Kate in the very first round, dragging in her indignation the fundamental principle of the modern spirit, the unconditional satiation of the thirst for life:

"She straightened her body and sighed. She felt as if she had eaten something poisoned with ptomaine. And this was life!"

The events that follow will plunge the heroine into the simplicity of the primordial nature of man, with the revival of an ancient religiosity. The "unrestrained" sex of the Irish woman will give way to a silent descent into the primordial darkness. The explosive political life of the Mexicans will give way to a mute descent into the primordial light that created the universe.