Blood Algebra

Blood Algebra is two stories in one. 


A fiery and quixotic American physician who goes to Guatemala to help the underserved, but brings about unintended consequences when she falls for the most unlikely of men...


A Guatemalan military hero trained by the CIA, whose greatest qualities bring about his spectacular downfall, and yet lead to his rebirth and his greatest, most ruthless success.


Both stories beget the question: what are any of us capable of, if pushed beyond our limits by the extremes of war, or love?


Dr. Justine Blanche, an idealistic and religious American physician, leaves her prestigious job in New York City for work in rural Guatemala. She ends up in the remote northern mountains, where a Mayan community called the Ixil lives much as it has since pre-Columbian times. Despite negligible resources, and a hospital more primitive than anything she thought possible, Justine makes gradual progress in improving the Ixil’s care. Naïve to the recent history of violence in the region, she does not see that her conviction and persistence seem arrogant to some, especially to local military leaders. She also refuses to believe stories about her own country’s dark role in aiding the Guatemalan Army. Justine fatefully meets the Jaguar, the semi-mythical leader of the guerrilla, when she saves his cousin from a massacre. After a prolonged test of wills, she falls in love. The notorious Colonel Peña discovers their link, and uses Justine to capture the Jaguar. Justine realizes too late that her idealism has been fatally compromised by her blindness, provoking catastrophe for those around her. Later in life, she is given an unexpected opportunity for revenge, and the moral dilemma this presents shows just how much Guatemala transformed her.


It is an extraordinary experience to be inside the mind of a man like Colonel César Peña. Formerly the most decorated officer in Guatemala, he falls from grace years after the above events take place. He is held for trial as a war criminal, and decides to write his autobiographical defense. Starting from humble origins, Peña shows how he became an outstanding field officer, one who led many brutal campaigns against the communist Indigena. His goal is to be one of the “magic nine” generals in the Armed Forces. The Army rewards his excellence by sending him to the United States for a year of training. Peña recounts his odd and hilarious observations of America. The CIA recruits him as an asset, which will aid him later in life. Upon returning to Guatemala, his tactical and strategic successes eventually lead to his promotion to the Ministry of Defense. That very night his life is transformed when the Jaguar attempts to assassinate him. The Jaguar and Peña turn out to be old enemies. Now, his trial just weeks away, he discovers that he is half Indigena, and the life he is writing about starts to come undone.