Three weeks into his first diplomatic posting in the "island paradise" of Santa Irene, Bill Burridge is jerked into terrorism by a disorganized gang of revolutionaries. Under torture, he yearns for death, but he can't conquer his will to live, clinging to sanity by recreating scenes from a peaceful past made luminous by present horror. His hypnotic voice, often edged with dark humour, takes readers on a mesmerizing journey to the depths and peaks of the human spirit.