For Paul Desilets, the suicide of his twin brother will mean a constant state of mental paralysis unless he finds a new vision of life and gains deeper insight into himself. After several months of spiritual retreat in a monastery, he decides to serve as a lay missionary among the Maya people of Guatemala. Soon after, he is sent to a small parish to help missionary priest Father John Callaghan fulfill his last assignment.
Fascinated by the pre-Columbian spiritual and cultural traditions that still survive among the Mayas, Desilets gains valuable insights into their unique way of knowing about the world and human experience. But after just eighteen months of working with the Mayas, he finds himself caught in the midst of mounting political tensions when the fragile bridge between the indigenous population and the Ladino rulers threatens to collapse.
Now it may not be enough to just live with the oppressed. He may also have to be willing to sacrifice his life for them.
Will he be able to achieve his mission in a country run by a dictatorship and where foreign missionaries are suspected of having links with leftist organizations?
