Mysticism and Central American folklore are woven together in this gripping novel of... ....a young woman whose sailboat is destroyed along the ragged cliffs of Matapalo, charged with murdering her companion. ...the man who rescues her and his conflicted love with a childhood sweetheart who has followed in her mother's footsteps into prostitution. ...a gun running lion tamer whose beasts have been seized by the Country's dictator. ...a wealthy owner of a bar with such strong ties to the village and his family he can't escape to be with his lover in New York. In a village named after a vine that wraps around and sucks the life out of its host tree, are these stories and more. Circling a complex and unanticipated plot are the stories of each character, torn between a past of promises and a present mired in the stench of rotting shark carcass. The reader will be transposed into a world where the future can be seen in the dregs of a lard can and strategically placed lemons can cost lives. This novel is continued in Matapalo Part Two: Deception River.