The Reddening Path is the story of Pamela who, adopted as an infant by Hannah and Fern, a Toronto lesbian couple, travels to Guatemala to search for her birth mother. Her quest uncovers a tangle of political and romantic intrigue as Pamela discovers her Mayan heritage and learns about the complexities of life in Guatemala.
Resonating throughout is an account of Malintzen, the Mayan slave who became Cortes' mistress. These details of the Spanish conquest weave throughout the narrative, colouring the lives of everyone she encounters in her birthland.
Pamela's journey casts light on the struggle between conqueror and conquered within the Guatemalan people and the spiritual and emotional complexities facing those of mixed blood, a reality which challenges her expectations for an easy resolution to her question of identity.
