The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a former French Overseas Territory, is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Spanish Sahara, Algeria, Mali and Senegal. Somewhere in the middle of this vast desert enclave-four-fifths the size of the state of Alaska-stands a tall and handsome young American atop a bald Sahara hill.
As he scans the surrounding waste with his field glasses, he sees a small oasis with its complement of goats and camels and a rocky desert road that turns to dust a few kilometers further on. What he does not see is his wife.
Penny. Somewhere out in that God-forsaken nothingness is Penny. She had to be. He's already checked all the brothels in Nouakchott and Port Etienne…