On Daniel’s sixteenth birthday, Daniel impulsively plans a dinner party and invites Gustavo Barceló, Bernarda, and Clara, ignoring Daniel’s father’s warning that it will end badly. In the months leading up to the night, Daniel’s relationship with Clara has become strained: Clara avoids being alone with Daniel, Clara’s uncle and Bernarda hover, Clara’s pious friends monitor visits, and Adrián Neri—the smug music teacher—regularly intrudes and needles Daniel.

Daniel’s father quietly makes the evening special anyway, buying a fine cake, setting out the best silver, and preparing a meal. The guests never arrive on time, and the silence between Daniel and Daniel’s father hardens into disappointment. Finally, Bernarda arrives alone with a message: Clara will not come because Barceló has left town on business and Clara has rescheduled her lesson with Maestro Neri; Bernarda attends only because it is her afternoon off.

Humiliated and furious, Daniel storms out, leaving behind his father and the untouched table. Outside, Daniel notices a dark-suited stranger watching from Puerta del Ángel, and the man begins to follow him with a slight limp. Daniel wanders to the port near the Columbus monument, where memories of childhood boat trips with his father and thoughts of his dead mother intensify Daniel’s grief and anger.

At the harbor steps, the stranger approaches and speaks as if he already knows Daniel well. The stranger offers money for The Shadow of the Wind and insists Daniel has it; Daniel denies owning the book and refuses to sell. The stranger’s voice is rasping and he smells of burned paper, and the conversation turns threatening as the stranger implies Daniel is the one making the mistake.

When the stranger mentions Clara, Daniel realizes this is the hoarse man who has been pestering her. To protect Clara and buy time, Daniel lies that Adrián Neri has the book, and the stranger pressures Daniel to retrieve it rather than let the stranger approach Clara. The stranger reveals he hunts Julián Carax’s books only to destroy them; striking a match, he briefly exposes a face horrifically scarred by fire and whispers that the books should be burned. He leaves Daniel with a warning to “sort this thing out” for Daniel’s and Clara’s sake, promising they will meet again.