In this masterful satire by Mario Vargas Llosa, the impeccably disciplined Captain Pantaleón Pantoja receives a secret mission: to create a prostitution service for Peruvian soldiers in the Amazon. Applying his formidable organizational skills, Pantaleón establishes a highly efficient 'Special Service,' but his roaring success spirals out of control, creating a hilarious and tragic clash between military bureaucracy, moral hypocrisy, and human desire. The novel brilliantly explores the absurdities of duty when confronted with the chaos of reality.