 "Ciudades Desiertas" is the story of Susana, a female Mexican writer fleeing her home to attend an international workshop in the United States, leaving her husband Eligio behind and completely unaware of her whereabouts.A hot-tempered intellectual with a somewhat cynical and misanthropic sense of humor, he works his way to catch up with his wife, arguing to have only done so to find out why exactly Susana left.The book's title seems to be derived from the couple's separate observations in regards to the apparent lack of movement around Arcadia, where the workshop takes place.