The Grey Pilgrim

A strikingly original plot blends unknown bits of real history with imagined incidents to create an unusual thriller. Its base is the last American Indian uprising in Arizona, occuring in October, 1940. At its core lay a struggle for civil rights. Deputy U.S. Marshall and Spanish Civil War veteran J.D. Fitzpatrick arrives in Tucson, a shell shock case. His job should have been a sinecure, but then the insensitive local BIA agent provokes a gunfight over the draft and riles the Papagos. Fitpatrick is sent to the reservation to arrest the ringleader, Jujul, and his band of renegades, but they have skipped out into the desert. Why should they accept a call for military service from a country that refuses to recognize their citizenship? Meanwhile, a Japanese Kempeitai agent we meet in Manchuria is sent to America to stir up discontent, make life awkward, and buy some additional preparation time for Japan's Pacific campaign. All these forces, including ghosts from J.D.'s terrifing past in Spain, collide along the Gulf of California. Displaying an appreciation for history and a rousing imagination, first time author Hayes delivers an unusual, enjoyable, and "what-if" novel.