The novel is divided into three sections. The first section is called ‘Without Notification of Receipt’. In chapter 1, Nico is a computer programmer on a business trip to Bergen in Norway. He is in the habit of buying postcards of the places he visits and buys one of the quays. The photograph was taken ten years before, and to his great surprise he discovers that he and the six friends he went interrailing with are in it, since they visited Bergen on their trip. Using a magnifying glass, he spots Óscar in his Deportivo football shirt, Bea in her long, green skirt, Mía in shorts, studying a map, Piero with his slicked-back hair, but he can’t find his best friend, Xacobe, or his partner, Aroa, until he discovers them in the background, kissing one another. He determines to find out what happened.

In chapter 2, we go back ten years to the time of their trip. It is 1 August, and the teenagers are visiting Stockholm. Xacobe shows Nico a Swedish twenty-crown note, on the back of which is a flock of geese, one of which carries the small figure of Nils Holgersson. Xacobe explains that the image comes from a book by Selma Lagerlöf, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, in which a boy, Nils, is turned into a goblin and carried on the back of a domestic goose to join a flock of wild geese as they travel over Sweden. Xacobe feels that the flock represents them, the seven teenagers, desiring to spread their wings and claim their freedom. Meanwhile, the other members of the group set off towards a palace. Piero is an Italian from Venice who has been on an exchange at the others’ school in Coruña for the past year. He is enamoured of the grey-eyed Aroa. Nico himself feels a tenderness towards her, but Xacobe has no interest in girls, or so Nico thinks.

In chapter 3, we revert to the present. Mía is having her nails done at a beauty parlour. She is a model with a high opinion of herself, married to a tall, blond car executive and living in Madrid. She receives a call from Nico about a possible reunion. They arrange to have lunch. Mía remembers Xacobe, the first boy she fell in love with, but he wouldn’t pay her any attention. She is surprised when Nico suggests there may have been something between Xacobe and Aroa. Nico explains he and Aroa met again three years earlier at Prague Airport and are now together. Aroa works as a researcher for a German-Galician group of laboratories. In chapter 4, ten years earlier, it is 5 August, and the friends are in the Norwegian port of Stavanger. Again, Xacobe is struck by something – a yacht called Europe – and imagines what it would be like to sail the seas with complete freedom. Only Aroa seems to understand him and suggests she would follow the migratory paths of birds. Mía is hung up on Xacobe, his mysterious air; Piero suggests there are some things in life that can’t be bought, and it’s important to be oneself.

In chapter 5, in the present, Piero lives in Venice with his wife, Loretta. They have taken charge of the family restaurant and are about to go on holiday. Piero receives a call from Nico, who needs to unburden himself and sends Piero the postcard so he can have a look. There is no doubt that Xacobe and Aroa are kissing one another. Piero feels sorry for Nico, who suffered more than most over the death of Xacobe the month after their interrailing trip. In chapter 6, it is 6 August, and the friends visit the cliff of Preikestolen in Norway. Xacobe is struck by its beauty in contrast to their human frailty and has the impression that complete and utter happiness could be possible. In chapter 7, Óscar is a car mechanic in Santiago. He likes to get his hands dirty, to watch football and chase girls. Nico comes to tell him about the school reunion and to ask about Xacobe. Óscar explains that, when they went out at night, Xacobe could get any girl he liked, but was sad about one particular relationship, which he didn’t want to talk about. In chapter 8, it is 9 August, and the friends are in Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Xacobe is struck by the figure of this author and remembers the stories he wrote, which his mother read to him as a child. He feels a pang in his heart, and Aroa comes to console him.

In chapter 9, Bea is a psychologist specializing in the treatment of teenagers. She is divorced and has a three-year-old daughter. Bea knew about Xacobe and Aroa’s secret relationship, but Aroa has asked her not to tell Nico. When Nico arranges to meet, she keeps quiet and limits herself to confirming the official version of Xacobe’s death: an overdose of digoxin owing to a heart condition. Nico isn’t convinced and wonders why Xacobe didn’t call for help when he began to feel unwell. In chapter 10, it is 10 August, and the friends are in Copenhagen. Nico and Xacobe visit the commune Christiania, but what Nico really wants is to spend the day with Aroa. He is happy when they catch up with Aroa by the statue of The Little Mermaid; Xacobe, who feels isolated, unsure what he wants, is also cheered by Aroa’s pleasant laugh. In chapter 11, Aroa attends her beehives and remembers how, as children, she and Xacobe, whose parents were divorced, spent most of their time together, but at school he was distant, at home intimate, and how they planned to go interrailing together, inviting the others along as cover, so no one would suspect their relationship. She wishes she had met Nico first, not Xacobe, he is so kind and attentive. Above all, she doesn’t want him to find out about her and Xacobe. In chapter 12, it is 13 August, and the friends are in Berlin. Aroa tells Nico about her love for bees and invites him to visit her beehives. She feels it is time there was someone else in her life aside from Xacobe.