The story of two refugees of Guatemala - one an ex- Government soldier, the other the husband and father of victims murdered by the first. When Antonio discovers by chance that the murderer of his young family is living nearby in Los Angeles he sets out to have revenge on the man he recognises only by a tattoo he saw once - on the day of the murders. Set against the background of the 'Homeless' communities and the poverty-stricken immigrant quarters of Los Angeles, the protagonists move in flash back to a plot which began in Guatemala years before. The tale's pathos is in its understanding both of the psychology of poverty, fear, and loneliness and how these things divide as well as unite communities everywhere; and of how the roles of victim and aggressor / innocent and guilty are never as straightforward as one might suppose. Powerful imager and a fast read.. ( )