Roque takes it upon himself to come up with a plan to rescue his uncle. The plan is hardly foolproof. In fact it is much closer to foolhardy as it depends in part on his brother teaching others how to operate weapons and carry out covert operations. As the plans are detailed to Roque by his cousin Pablo (who for some reason prefers to be called Happy), it becomes clear that a Muslim friend of Happy’s, Samir and a young girl are part of the package that includes Tio Faustino. Happy has an extended network of allies who are supposed to help with the covert border crossing, but Roque is reluctant to trust any of these allies many of whom are gang members or others whom seem untrustworthy.

  The characters draw the reader in with their quixotic blend of traits that prevent one from easily empathizing with them, yet they are intriguing. They seem at times to be basically good, at other times quite ruthless. The more one learns the more one feels compelled to find out what makes them tick. Though the narrative relates events occurring in the present, Godo has numerous flashbacks to his combat days revealing more about his character than his health history.

 Adding to the realism of the plot, the author generously sprinkles the dialogue with bits of Spanish. He translates all but the most common Spanish phrases, though the translation interrupts and slows the momentum of the action. Those readers with a reasonable command of the language should be able to skip over the translated bits, maintaining a more reasonable pace.

 Corbett sneaks in tidbits of Salvadoran culture and tradition which adds to the education of his audience. In addition the enigma of a Muslim friend purportedly helping in the rescue operation gives a bit of Middle Eastern flavor to the story as well as enhancing the mysterious element in the plot. There is little mystery in the plot. The hook that the author uses to pull in his readers is the sad predicament that his characters have through no fault of their own to deal with in order to better their lives.

  The pace of the action is slow. The reader must be taken with the characters themselves and the difficulties that they face in a seemingly unforgiving world to be drawn into the book. The points that the author subtly makes are good ones, but the reader must pay attention and use his mind to appreciate them. This book cannot be read without one’s full attention to the text. My suggestion is to definitely turn the television off when you read it.

--Andy Plonka