By Nevada Barr, 2009
Anna Pigeon and her new husband, Paul Davidson, a wonderful man, priest and cop, go on a raft trip in Big Bend N.P. on the Rio Grande which borders Texas and Mexico. The border has been closed since 9/11 and the book opens with a young pregnant Mexican woman crossing with her grandmother and mother from Mexico to Texas to have her baby in Texas so it will be a U.S. citizen. The border guards turn them back in the river, she loses her footing and drowns. That’s the prologue. Anna starts her raft trip with Paul, 4 college kids from the East Coast, and Carmen, their raft guide. Non-stop action. First, they rescue a cow stuck on a ledge in the canyon. Then, they lose the raft and all their stuff on a rock in the rapids. Then they find a woman trapped in the water, they pull her out, she’s pregnant-her last words to Anna are, “Take my baby.” Anna delivers the baby, performing a C-Section on the dead woman, with Paul’s pocketknife. Carmen climbs up the canyon to get into cell phone range to call for help. She gets shot by someone on the rim. Then Lori, one of the college kids, gets shot. The rest, with the new baby, Helena, make it out. Find Freddy Martinez camped on the rim, a ranger. He takes Anna, Paul, and Helena to his house. His wife, Lisa, has a new baby boy and takes care of Helena. The Mayor of Houston, Judith Pierson, and her security team are in Big Bend for a big to-do to announce she’s running for governor. Meanwhile, 2 pretend social workers come to Lisa’s house and try to take Helena. Anna figures out they are thugs and beats them up. When all is said and done: the shooter was Judith Pierson’s hired gun, and the woman and baby are Judith’s husband’s mistress and child – Judith wouldn’t give him a divorce – he wanted to marry the woman. Judith’s head of security, Darden, figures it all out and kills Judith before she kills Anna and the baby.