'Poirier is a wonderful creator of situations ... His great creation here is Kendra ... Poirier makes you feel trapped in his characters' own predicaments. This is America as it really is ... Superb' Guardian

'One of the most kinetic, original young fiction writers we've read in a long time' Esquire

The weather is hotter than hell in Tucson, Arizona, and weird things are afoot in the crumbling desert community of Rancho Sin Vacas.

Sixteen-year-old Kendra hones her muscles and grapples with bad grammar, occasionally worrying about her brother, Thomas, who spends all day watching wrestling on TV. Their neighbour Merv is stuck in a rut, still living at home at thirty and looking after his troubled mother. When the strung-out teenager from over the road, Kendra's sometime-boyfriend, goes missing it affects them all in different and surprising ways.

And although Kendra is apparently unconcerned, claiming that he's just run away, she can't shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this summer.