Summary

Manuel receives a cryptic message from Mike O’Kelly, Nidia Vidal’s close friend, because Maya is not supposed to have any direct contact with the outside world, which would allow people to trace her. Maya interprets the message to mean things are quiet in Berkley, and Maya’s hunters are inactive for the moment. Mike O’Kelly is an Irishman who shares a passion for murder mysteries and social justice with Nidia. Mike is in a wheelchair, having been shot in the back while protecting a juvenile delinquent he wanted to rehabilitate.

After a month on the island, Maya has settled into a routine, though there is little to do. She doesn’t miss the drugs, alcohol, and wild ways of her former life as much as she thought she would. She finds the island’s absurd reliance on superstition irritating, but...