The Flies of God

Reeking of Armor All, cigarettes, and coffee, Leland Parnall is on a mission – not to perform a heroic deed but to free himself from one. Trapped for 37 years by the need to hide a nightmarish act, his life has been a lie that has slowly imprisoned and prematurely aged him. When he catches his wife with another man, Leland recognizes the inevitable: he must make the journey to his hometown of Duckwater, Nevada to face his past.

Behind the wheel of an old rent-a-wreck, he heads away from Houston, where he has lived since he was sixteen. Armed with an inadequate map and a penchant for handing out sarcastic awards, he sets out on not one, but two journeys: one to Nevada, the other through his life. He travels the back roads of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona replaying the events of a childhood spent protecting his sister from their vicious father. While looking for giant cactus that look like men along the back roads, he meets an assortment of seemingly-random, oddball characters that help Leland devise the ultimate solution to his past.

Back in Duckwater at last, in the ruins of the trailer where he grew up, Leland’s journeys into the past and present finally collide. He summons the courage to face the memory of the final confrontation with his father, and performs his bravest act yet.