Wanderer of the Wasteland

by Zane Grey Book 1 in the Wanderer of the Wasteland series.

First published 1923

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Beginning in 1878, a man flees into the deserts of southern California after killing another person and becomes a fugitive from both the law and his own conscience. The wasteland offers concealment but not relief: heat, thirst and isolation strip away the distractions that might have allowed him to forget the act that sent him there.

His wandering gradually becomes a search for atonement through hardship and service to others. The novel treats the desert as a moral as well as physical environment, where survival demands discipline and where old betrayal continues to shape every new relationship. Escape proves easier than forgiveness, especially when the past refuses to remain buried.