Starting with the attempted coup d’état of February 23, 1981 —, known as 23-F , Anatomy of a Moment dissects one of the pivotal episodes in Spain’s recent history: the democratic transition. When Lieutenant Colonel of the Civil Guard Antonio Tejero stormed into Congress with a pistol in hand, only three men remained seated while the rest ducked for cover: Adolfo Suárez, Santiago Carrillo, and Gutiérrez Mellado.
Through the stories of these three men who led the transition to democracy, and the three main architects of the coup , Tejero, Milans, and Armada , the series unravels the chain of events and rising tensions that brought Spain to the brink of returning to military rule. Based on the book by Javier Cercas, described as “one of the most important works of contemporary Spanish-language literature.”