The first-person narrator is a man who falls in love with a wave while visiting the sea. He lives in an apartment in Mexico City but otherwise does not describe himself or his life. He is initially pragmatic about the possibility of a relationship with the wave; he does not believe a life in the city for her is possible but gives in to her cries and threats. This initial dynamic sets the tone for the rest of their relationship. When he is accused of poisoning the drinking water on the train, he cannot defend himself and is sentenced to time in prison because no one believes his story. The narrator’s perspective blurs the lines between reality and fiction in this surreal world; the wave and their relationship are very real to the narrator but merely a fantasy to others.

The wave changes the narrator’s life: She first fills it with endless light and play, and their passionate intimacy is magical, always transforming the pair and the home around them. He is aware that this love is all-consuming, and even though he will never genuinely understand her, he allows himself to be “smothered” by her.