An experienced American diplomat goes up against a passionate young female revolutionary to determine who will govern Peru, the newly elected government of Fernando Belaunde or the communist Shining Path. Set in Peru in 1978-1982, when the Shining Path initiated their bloody uprising, this historical novel traces the rise of Edith Lagos to become the most admired leader of the leftist movement, and the efforts of Bruce Berkman to neutralize or eliminate her. The action, based on actual events, swings between the costal capital of Lima and the mountainous Altiplano.