As an astronomer, Michael Braden's job is to protect a gianttelescope from the elements at the legendary Palomar Observatory in southernCalifornia. But one night, in a midnight storm, a young woman is found on themountain, smeared with blood and wearing only a flimsy party dress. She is mute,or so it appears. Michael knows he must shield her too. And as Elena's storybegins to reveal itself, stretching tautly from Havana to Mexico and back toPalomar, Michael becomes engulfed in a firestorm both psychological andphysical, where the past relentlessly pursues the present in a dark race forlove, redemption and a new life. Set both on the border between California and Mexico--wherewaves of immigrants and criminals overwhelm the mountain with kidnapping, secretidentities and murder--and in the small Canadian town of Penetanguishene, TheTruth About the Night beautifully reflects another kind of violence,where entire galaxies must be destroyed to create new life and order. A stunningblend of superb storytelling and cinematic dialogue with a powerful explorationof the fragile truths that connect us all, Martyn Burke delivers a novel that isas provocative as it is entertaining.