"James Reese patrols the California desert a hundred fifty miles southeast of L.A. His job is to pursue illegals attempting to cross the border, to capture them and return them to the other side. James is on horseback and armed. The illegals, on foot, mostly aren't. It's ironic work for a white man with Chicano cheekbones.". "Adopted as a child, James is disturbed by memories of his first family. Although married and the devoted son of a retired homicide cop, he feels estranged. When word unexpectedly arrives that his birth mother has died, his murky past comes alive with danger. James has questions. And the answers can only be found in that lost world where he was Jaime Santana, son of a wealthy woman and a convicted murderer.". "Who committed the crime that destroyed his family? Why was he exiled from his own past? Is it worth his life to find out?"--BOOK JACKET.