Godulfo was born to an indigenous mother and German father, Luther, who names him—Gott (God) and Wolf. Germans arrived in Chiapas in the XIX century to plant coffee and cocoa. The boy grew up in contact with nature, ignored by Luther. He inherited blond hair, which stirred interest in Luther, himself, married and father of numerous illegitimate children on his estate. Godulfo roamed freely in the mountains, where he receives a message from the Supreme Lord urging him to visit a fissure beside a ceiba. There lives the Ajaw Kawil Qápoj, the old advising god, who makes him his successor and instructs him on his people, the tentsunes, the “ghosts,” turned nomads after suffering harassment from Aztecs and Spaniards. Godulfo’s initiation consists of offerings to the Supreme Lord. He first steals rabbits and then a sheep from the estate of a friend of his father, which provokes Luther’s wrath and leads to his subsequent sending him to a military academy in Germany, convinced that his son’s savage paganism comes from the name he gave him and decides to correct his mistake.

Lauro travels to Chiapas in 1959, where he meets Catalino, who guides him through the jungle, and tells him legends of Soconusco. He was particularly struck by the figure of the bachelor god-adviser of couples on matters of sex, nicknamed by the Spanish conquerors as the Catadamas, a derivation of the “cata” (testing) made by the “catadores”, testers of coffee and cocoa.

In Germany, wild Godulfo is eventually expelled and returns. He reunites with the old god and is trained. The god insists that in a couple both give and receive and that the advisor god’s mission is to show lovers the path to happiness, which requires understanding sexual intricacies. However, the god must refrain from touching the bride.

Having completed his instruction, Godulfo debuts with great success and is besieged by tentsune couples. For many years, he combines his role as god with his knowledge of herbs and concoctions, selling them at a stall in the market, until he reaches forty. He avoids touching the bride. During that time Lauro and Godulfo meet. The latter gives him some herbs that help him sexually in his relationships.

The old god is dying and confesses his secret: he is a woman, and much of his knowledge stems from it.

For the first time he is called upon by a white couple, which brings a change to his ritual because he deems it better not to present himself with feathers and charms but with a mask he buys at the market. His first performance is a success, partly due to the titillation the mask produces. Soon other white couples request his counsel, and the use of masks soars. No one knows his identity, not even Rosaura, the young married woman with whom he makes his first and only mistake. The secret relationship with her eventually reaches the husband’s ears, and it is Catalino who helps him escape and takes him to Lauro in Mexico City. In a boardinghouse Godulfo tells his story.

Lauro tries to integrate Godulfo into modern society. Ultimately, he ends up performing in a male striptease show and is also hired as a gigolo. But he does not feel comfortable: does not understand the hurry and sexual aggressiveness of urban society.

Later, and after Lauro´s help, he works as a schoolteacher. This will be a quiet stage for the god that lasts several years. Meanwhile, indigenous guerrillas prepare for a rebellion in Chiapas. Godulfo advises them to wear masks and only returns to his land when the rebels secure a parcel of jungle. Lauro never sees him again, nor does he ever get the precious herb the god once gave him. He never comes to accept the divinity of the Catadamas but does accept the benefits of his counsel.