Paulo, a domestic servant with a reputation for back-talk, is witness to a political murder. When a soothsayer is brought in to solve the crime, she sees Paulo as a tool: he can get close to the suspect, whereas she, as a known mind-reader, would instantly be recognized as a threat. But if Paulo works for her, he may get black-balled by the corporation that provides him job, room, and board. He will certainly get caught in a political conspiracy. If that weren't enough, there are stories that soothsayers can cause terrible psychic damage, and this one, people say, has something of a temper.