Set in the port city of Antofagasta, on the edge of Chile's Atacama Desert, between 1918 and 1920, Rita's Wait follows Rita, a thirty-two-year-old seamstress who longs for independence and a life of purpose beyond the expectations placed on women of her era.

On the Day of the Dead, Rita notices a mysterious man standing beside a grave. Drawn to him despite reason, she carries his image as she walks home, only to encounter a group painting a black cross on a wall. The mark is the work of the Patriotic League, whose campaign of intimidation, violence, and expulsion targets those it deems undesirable.As Rita crosses paths with Xavier, the man from the cemetery, she learns he is among the persecuted. Danger closes in as they confront a world shaped by prejudice, nationalist ideology, and fear. Around them, others face impossible choices of their own, revealing the many faces of love, loyalty, and moral conviction. Together, their stories form a richly layered portrait of a community struggling to preserve its humanity in a time of fear and division.As events force Rita farther from the life she has known, the stark landscapes of the northern Atacama become a place where history and legend seem to surface in subtle signs, challenging her understanding of time and memory and drawing her toward the threshold between the visible and the unseen.Inspired by family history and real historical events, Rita’s Wait blends meticulous research with an intimate human story that explores enduring love, identity, belonging, and the human cost of intolerance. Superstition, folklore, and Indigenous traditions coexist with moments of transcendence, while the stark beauty and mystery of the Atacama Desert invite readers to glimpse the ethereal without ever losing sight of historical reality.