Once again, like so many times in his life, Felisito remembered his father's words before he died: "Never let anyone step on you, my son. This advice is the only inheritance you will receive."

He had listened, he had never let himself be stepped on. And with half a century and something on his back, he was too old to change habits.

The book "A Discreet Hero" tells the parallel story of two characters: the measured and lovable Felisito Gyanake, a small entrepreneur from Piura, who falls victim to blackmail; and Ismael Carrera, a successful businessman, owner of an insurance company in Lima, who plots an unexpected revenge against his two slow-witted sons who wished for his death.

Both characters are discreet revolutionaries in their own way, trying to take control of their destiny, as both Ismael and Felisito struggle against the course of events. While Ismael disregards all the conventions of his social class, Felisito seizes a few principles to confront the blackmail.

They are not inflexible, but they stand above the pettiness of their environment to live according to their ideals and desires. In these pages, old acquaintances from the world of Vargas Llosa appear: Lieutenant Lituma and the invincible ones, Don Rigoberto, Doña Lucrecia, and Fonchito, who now move in a very prosperous Peru.