Includes bibliographical references (pages xxiii-xxiv).

Robert Laxalt's first novel, A Man in the Wheatfield, was published to critical acclaim when it was released in 1964. Nearly four decades later Laxalt's deeply moving story of a small community in the high deserts of Nevada still resonates with readers. The author relays his shocking story simply and concisely. Father Savio Lazzaroni is obsessed with a vision of evil. Mayor Manuel Cafferata is only concerned with his own standing in a tiny village peopled with Italian immigrants. Into their isolated town comes Smale Calder, the first outsider to set up business in the tightly knit society. The events that befall these three men and the villagers reveal the chilling ways in which people deal with fear and prejudice. When Calder's secret passion for rattlesnakes is discovered, the lives of all involved are changed in a dramatic sequence of emotions and events. Laxalt's quiet, build up of suspense and violence will sneak up on the readers and leave them questioning the meaning of good and innocence.