This hilarious novel follows an oil company geologist whose attempt to do a good deed fails spectacularly. He winds up in desolate northeast New Mexico, while his nemesis reaps the rewards. As Sir Walter Scott said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!" Just when he starts to appreciate his new surroundings, and especially a woman he meets, he's forced to leave. He tries once again to control events, this time with a...