When this master storyteller breaks new ground, he does it with a flame-thrower.

The first part of this book was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, sparking both outrage and acclaim. The next two sections, published here for the first time, unravel visions even more dangerous.

Both heart-breaking and heart-warming, this is a violent, sexy, no-holds-barred tale of a ferocious soul coming to terms with a brutal, uncompromising world.

From the desperate streets of Los Angeles' urban jungle to the greener jungles of Vietnam, from the sanctuary of a Saigon whore house to the heat-scorched follies of Arizona, a disabled veteran discovers that true intimacy is something to be feared as much as cherished.

This astonishing work dives headlong into the darkest parts of the heart, coming out again on the far side, to discover the most human of all human adventures. Take this journey and you will never be the same.