Author Description

It happens at Escuela Carcelén, an international school in Quito, Ecuador. When the Spanish teacher is murdered, the school counselor, Soledad, and her lover, Casey, start looking for the answer. They are ex-pats here in Quito - with Soledad coming from Venezuela, and Casey from the U.S. - and they make a light-hearted but very effective team. They investigate Laura Torres' many lovers, past and present, and her early origins in Cuba. Casey, who is an astrologer, counsels Laura's guilt-ridden mother. And they deal with an eclectic batch of teachers and students, including the little group of dramatic "bad kids" called Las Voces. But meanwhile, the police (at the behest of the U.S. ambassador) are focusing their attention on the locally hired staff at the school, and political tensions are escalating. When the local hires form a picket line over their ill treatment, there is another attack. Who is behind the violence that is tearing Escuela Carcelén apart? And since Laura was found murdered the first time Las Voces presented their avant-garde play, what will happen at the repeat performance?