Arturo Marone called his pear brandy the Elixir. His family calls it the Nectar of the Gods. Doc thinks they might be right.

A former serviceman, Doc’s been at loose ends since his forced exit from a savage military career. His promising university professorship is terminated when it’s discovered he fabricated a portion of his resume. Since then he’s been wandering, picking up jobs where he can.

While working as a carpenter in Houston, Doc is invited to the Texas Hill Country home of Maggie Marone. There he meets Maggie’s family and samples Arturo’s pear brandy for the first time. Unfortunately, Arturo, Maggie’s husband, disappeared four years ago, amid rumors that his fortune came from dealing drugs.

Maggie wants to find her husband, or at least determine whether or not he’s still alive. Intrigued, Doc agrees to help track the man down. The only clues available come from Arturo’s occasional correspondence, forming a patchwork trail of churches, monasteries, communes, and reservations.

As Doc retraces Arturo’s steps, he finds a complex web of people who knew, admire, and loved the missing man. Something more than drug dealing accounts for Arturo’s disappearance-a mystery tied to the magical power of the Elixir.