The novel takes place at the turn of the twentieth century in a remote and beautiful stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert near the border of West Texas and Mexico. Rich with mercury, the desert attracts a visionary north easterner, Owen Scraperton, who settles in the southern wilderness to establish a Utopian community called Pristina. Owen quickly finds in mercury the economic foundation for his new world. The metal's hypnotic beauty and fluidity are perfect emblems for his social theories, and his sincere heart and rich voice attract a heterogeneous mix of followers who join him in disregarding the metal's more harmful qualities.