In New York City's Spanish Harlem, Julio and Maritza are each searching for a path that will give their lives meaning, even if it's shadowed by controversy. Julio is an arsonist for hire, pocketing thousands of dollars from investors eager to capitalize on more expensive real estate. But when he has reason to stop setting his neighborhood ablaze and vows to change his ways, Julio's employers threaten his life -- and the lives of those close to him. Maritza, meanwhile, has become the pastor of a progressive Pentecostal church -- the perfect cover for the scam she's running. For the right price, she'll make anyone an American citizen.

With a cast of characters as colorful as the city itself, Ernesto Quiñonez brings to life a landscape we can all recognize.

Ernesto Quionez is the author of Bodega Dreams, which was chosen as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers title as well as a Borders Bookstore Original New Voice selection. He lives in Harlem.