Signal to Depart

Arriving in Southwest New Mexico, itinerant bookman Jason Niles finds the town of Del Cobre almost too good to be true -- a community at ease with its modest size, rich in the heritage of an ancient culture, and uniquely in harmony with the natural world. It is an idyll that cannot last. The boomers think Del Cobre holds a different promise. And they have little sympathy for Mexican Black Hawks nesting on the edge of town, or the mysteries left behind by ancient artists. You can see it coming. And so can Jason. Inspired, and deluded, by the Ancients' lurid art, the books in which he trades, and the woman of his dreams, Jason sees an opportunity to make a difference. If he can pull it off, he can save remnants of a modern as well as a ancient culture, and even salvage something of himself.