A Place in the Wind

Detective Jimmy Vega was taken off active duty after a previous case went awry, but that doesn't stop him from investigating when 17-year-old Catherine Archer—beautiful, blonde, and rich—is found dead in the woods. She was a tutor at La Casa, a support center for immigrants headed by Jimmy's ex-lawyer girlfriend, Adele, in Lake Holly, NY, and suspicion automatically falls on Rolando Benitez-Ochoa, a young Guatemalan from the center who has a history of violence. Anger toward the immigrant community, fueled by the self-aggrandizing actions of the local county supervisor, polarizes the town as the hunt progresses for Catherine's killer. Jimmy unofficially helps with the investigation until his actions result in the killing of the accused. As punishment, he is sent to work as a valet for the supervisor, but behind the scenes, he discovers that there is much more to the story of the girl's death than meets the eye. Chazin emphasizes how choices made under dire circumstances have lingering repercussions.