It is 1864, and Mexico is bankrupt and riven by civil war. After a dangerous army officer survives a bungled assassination attempt, young, bookish Diego Serrano is inadvertently pulled into a drama of loyalty and deceit that unfolds against a backdrop of imperial splendour and brutal conflict. Diego is forced to make a soul-wrenching choice, and his decision will have seismic consequences for himself and his nation.

OAKLAND ROSS is the author of the novel The Dark Virgin, the travel memoir A Fire on the Mountains, and Guerrilla Beach, a collection of short stories that was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award. He is a features writer for the Toronto Star and spent several years as the Star’s Middle East correspondent. He previously lived in Zimbabwe and Mexico City as The Globe and Mail’s Africa and Latin America correspondent. Ross is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards, a National Magazine Award for fiction and the Roland Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism. He lives in Toronto.

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