El heroe discreto simultaneously recounts the life of two very different men. Felicito Yanaque is a small-business owner from Piura who is being blackmailed. Ismael Carrera is a successful businessman from Lima who is plotting a shocking reprisal after his two good-for-nothing sons tried to have him killed. Past the men's differences shines one common trait: both are quiet rebels trying to take charge of their own destinies. While Ismael defies every convention of his social class, Felicito uses a few vital maxims as a foothold against blackmail. Neither are avenging angels, but both soar high above society's pettiness to live according to their dreams and ideals. In this humorously melodramatic account, which takes place in the booming Peru of today, Piura and Lima become imagined territories inhabited by many of Vargas Llosa's beloved characters.