"Michael has travelled a long way from his boyhood under the endless skies of the Midwest. His retirement is peaceful, if solitary: looking out on the wide waters of the Atlantic from the coast of Ireland. But one day there is a visitation: a mysterious car on the seafront, and a package delivered. From its contents, Michael understands that he has been commissioned to undertake a final journey. As Michael makes his way deep into a distant desert - a strange and liminal landscape that lies between hell and redemption - he undertakes another journey, into long-suppressed memories: of Vietnam and the dying days of war, and the lost woman who has haunted him for decades."--Provided by publisher.