La Chiripa

"A woman's murder is the essence of the mundane."

Vancouver lawyer Matt Wayne catches the story of a murdered Japanese tourist on the evening news and instantly knows one thing: he will hunt down the woman he hates in Todos Santos, high in the mountains of Guatemala.

Pira and her mother, Alma, keep quiet about their past, much as their Mayan neighbors, still in shock after four decades of La Violencia, now maintain El Silencio over an unspeakable history. But two aspiring journalists tell the sensational story their way, proving once again that lies uncover truth better than truth uncovers lies.

No one but the shaman Natalya, dreaming of the vengeful, mythic Anton Kristo, can foresee the resulting wave of new violence about to engulf Todos Santos. Pira is plunged into a fight for her life and Alma again faces a mother's sacrifice: to give up everything for a child.