At once a sweeping love story and a harrowing account of the harshness of the American Old West, DESERT PHOENIX is the tale of a prostitute who gains an unlikely ally in her struggle for physical and emotional survival. No longer young or fresh, Tempa is staring face to face with the whore's unholy trinity: alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. While her best friend, Belle, has chosen laudanum, Tempa finds escape in a book club-like setting at the cribs. Forced into prostitution as a girl after losing her family to yellow fever, Tempa also retains a sense of self-worth by using her knowledge to heal others. When she nurses Henry-a good-natured, young German immigrant on the run from a man who has reason to want him dead- Tempa sees a future she longs for but cannot allow herself to claim. So when the noose tightens around Henry's neck, she ransoms her life for his.