Journey Through an Arid Land

Wiona Rutherford is barely keeping her head above the dust as she struggles to manage her dilapidated ranch and a mother who is lapsing into dementia. To make matters worse, the ranch, located in the arid, mountain corridor that is the border between Mexico and Southeast Arizona, is a major crossing for illegal aliens. Although Wiona is sympathetic to those who undertake this dangerous journey, she is sick to death of the damage they leave behind. Then she comes upon a lone woman and her just born baby on the cold ground under an oak tree.

Gayle Jandrey has created an enthralling human drama set within the complex and dynamic world of today's Mexican–American border region. Living within this turbulent setting is Wiona, a tough independent rancher competing in a strictly male profession, and Stokey, a veteran Border Patrol Agent burdened with family issues as he patrols a Darwinian landscape of desperate migrant travelers seeking a better life and the malevolent human coyotes that exploit them like some type of cash commodity. Jandrey's book gives an accurate portrayal of the danger, fear, desperation, and sometimes hope that is played out on our busiest border on a daily basis. I found it a good read and a difficult book to put down.
- Cameron Hintzen, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent U.S. Border Patrol (retired)

Jandrey tackles the border drama with brutal honesty, dishing up a meaty stew of characters – some you'll love to hate, some you'll hate to love.
- Gerry Hernbrode, author of Provincial Justice