The Mapmaker's Opera

Book excerpt: IN A TOWN IN THE HEART OF LA MANCHA, home to Don Quijote and his windmills, the Clemente family lived for centuries, their fortunes tied to those of a plant... So begins the grand tale that is The Mapmaker's Opera. Born in Seville, Spain to a dishonored governess, a young Diego Clemente finds solace in the world of books, in particular John James Audubon's Birds of America. Mesmerized by the wondrous images in Audobon's magnificent volume, he longs to travel to the New World to find his destiny and see these amazing creatures for himself. When renowned American naturalist Edward Nelson enlists him by chance to create a guide to Yucatan's birds, Diego's dream comes true. Arriving on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on the eve of the Mexican Revolution, Diego finds himself in a world that is as precarious as it is beautiful, where opulent henequen plantations are built on the backs of slave labor and the social order is on the brink of imploding. And there, Diego falls for the young Sofia, a woman who longs to be as free as the birds she also loves. He tries with all his might to win her and, with Nelson's help, to save the last pair of passenger pigeons in existence. A mesmerizing tale of star-crossed passions, a pair of mysterious birds, and a young man's quest to honor both his passions, The Mapmaker's Opera transports its audience with stunning vistas, magical storytelling, and a universal story of love.