"A novel based on a true story"--Page 1 of cover

"[B]ased on a true story of survival, silence, and succession in postcolonial Peru. ... A child is born in secret, his presence unacknowledged, his origin obscured by silence. ... Set against the real-life devastation of the 1970 Ancash earthquake and avalanche, the novel follows Santiago, a Peruvian orphan raised in a shadow of secrets he doesn't know he carries, as he searches for meaning, belonging, and the thread of identity across continents and decades. What unfolds is a different kind of inheritance. A path that leads to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico"--Page 4 of cover

"This is a work of creative nonfiction. Names, identifying details, and select events have been changed for privacy and narrative cohesion"--Title page verso