"In this fictionalized history of New Mexico, the author brings vividly to life Don Juan Onate's sixteenth-century establishment of the first permanent settlement in the American West, on behalf of Phillip II of Spain. The story is told through the eyes of Onate's staunchest supporter, Captain Villagra, who writes from his prison cell in Seville years after Onate's conquest. Through flashbacks rich in detail, the reader witnesses Onate's perilous advances into the territory of the 'pueblo dwellers' of the American Southwest, the infighting among Onate's own men after their leader is made governor of the conquered land, the loves and motives of the sharply drawn characters who accompany Onate on his expedition, and Onate's eventual downfall. The novel also touches on more momentous events in history: The Spanish Inquisition, divisiveness among the Franciscans, and the Native American revolt in the Southwest. A well-paced adventure story that brims with high drama." (BOOKLIST)