In 1777, under orders from George Washington, sixteen-year-old Captain Lorenzo Bannister drives 500 head of cattle east from San Antonio, Texas, to feed the Continental Army while enemies, old and new, plot against him.

In the summer of 1779, having served as an officer in the Continental Army, eighteen-year-old Lorenzo Bannister enjoys a quieter life practicing medicine in Spanish-controlled New Orleans, until his fiancee is kidnapped and the governor of the Louisiana territory, Bernardo De Gálvez, decides to lead Spanish troops in a surprise attack against the British.

In 1776, fifteen-year-old Lorenzo Bannister leaves Texas and his father's new grave to carry a letter to the Virginia grandfather he has never known, and becomes involved with the struggle of the American Continental Army and its Spanish supporters.

A collection of twenty traditional tales from southern Texas viewed through the author's experiences on the cattle ranches owned by his father, including one in an area known as "el desierto muerto."

This is the first book to explore the impact of American corporate culture on Latin American societies in the decades before World War II.

David, a young migrant worker, tells how he discovered his voice. How his dreams come true to become a singer, in spite of roadblocks set up by his family and society.

After Tessa's father inexplicably makes her change her summer plans, she spends the summer wondering what he is hiding, experimenting with magic spells, and making a new friend.