Narration

Narrated in the first person by Thomas Wingfield, an Englishman whose adventures include having his mother murdered, a brush with the Spanish Inquisition, shipwreck, and slavery.

Plot Overview

Eventually, Thomas unwillingly joins a Spanish expedition to New Spain, and the novel tells the fictionalized story of the first interactions between the natives and European explorers.

Themes

This includes a number of misunderstandings, prejudice on the part of the Spaniards, and ultimately open war...