In the atmospheric tradition of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, Gregory Hinton spins an impassioned, poignant debut novel, transporting readers from seedy barrio alleys to the hallowed, flickering refuge of the Catholic church; to the bedrooms and the barrooms where the lives of a vividly drawn cast of characters are played out even as the curtain slowly and inevitably descends on the fading desert town they call home...Once it was dazzling and pristine, rising on a lonely stretch of highway somewhere between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. Streets lined with low wood and stucco homes, bustling nightclubs, busy shops; residents and regulars ranging from high-powered investors to flamboyant gay men to hardworking Hispanics to Sinatra himself. Now it lies nearly dormant, its crumbling facades shielding disenchanted longtime locals as effectively as the hordes of Mexican immigrants determined to build lives amidst the ruins.Against this backdrop, longtime lovers Kenny and Nick cling to each other and to their struggling local nightspot even as deep-pocketed developers hover, armed with plans to rebuild Cathedral City from the ground up. Ever fueled by liquor, his judgment clouded by nostalgia, Nick is determined to hold out against the wrecking ball that looms like the scorching desert sun. Disillusioned yet devoted to Nick, Kenny searches for answers, facing a future as fragile as his vast collection of handmade dolls.Meanwhile, their landlord Sam Singer is about to see his real estate investment come to fruition -- but at what price? Once a laughingstock, Sam is now torn between loyalty to his tenants and the promise of victory at last, on the brink of profit -- andperhaps, a comeback, for his wife, Ruthie. Once a glamorous lounge singer, she's isolated herself behind the whitewashed adobe walls of their luxurious home, tormented by her darkest secret -- and an irrevocable link to Nick and C