When John Dillon abandons an unfulfilling job on Wall Street, the Peace Corps sends him to a muddy mountain village in Panama where flesh-eating disease, homegrown dope, and a balding dog become his closest companions. Before long, however, John falls for Elena - a starry-eyed idealist with a strict Mormon upbringing and a startling past. John and Elena travel long distances in handmade canoes and rusted-out buses to share a precious night in the capital. And just as they adapt to their new life, their love is jeopardized by savage violence. "a well-written and entertaining page-turner" - Harper Collins