Set against the backdrop of the New Mexico desert, "Cold Heat" introduces an eclectic cast of characters that brings the American Southwest to life.
There s Officer Jaime Red Claw of the Alta Sheriff s Department, who discovers skeletal human remains on his day off. There s fifty-two-year old Bernice Begay of Show Low, Arizona. She creates handmade Native American rugs and blankets and sells them with the help of her two sons Milford and Dilford. Bernice s cousin, Tessie, is a basket weaver. Their lives intersect with that of twenty-one-year-old truck driver Kyle West known in the Yah-te spirit Bak-Chi-Hlo and seventeen-year-old Evan Withers, who is introduced to the interesting world of truck driving as he travels from New York to Mexico.
A sequel to "Grandfather s Songs, " this novel examines the second-class citizenship experienced by Native Americans while focusing on the special qualities of Indian heritage, culture, and families."