Book excerpt: Political exile Isabel returns to her native Chile when the country is in transition to democracy, following the cruel dictatorship that killed her father and her boyfriend. She is searching for the old Chile she once knew and for her own identity after years in Britain as a refugee, an outsider. Finding Chile deeply divided and democracy impossible with the legacy of the dictator, she embarks on the political activity she sees as vital. Her activism and film-making ambitions carry her across this diverse country of extremes. She visits the native peoples’ homeland with its lush forests and learns of their struggles. With her new Chilean lover, she sees the world’s driest desert in flower and the oldest mummies in the world. Isabel learns much else about her country and herself, whilst risking arrest for her political militancy. Her English partner takes up voluntary work in Chile hoping to find her, fearing for her safety but uncertain if she has left him. His search becomes an enlightening exploration of the culture and politics of Chile in tumultuous times. Isabel is still finding herself and trying to decide her future between two realities.