In the late 50s, against the backdrop of the Mojave desert, an Air Force test pilot and a bartender have a brief but intense affair. Each will go on to find fame, infamy or both.

Vincent Kahn will become an astronaut and the first man to walk on the moon, while Fay will be wanted for violent acts political terrorism, campaigning against the horrors of the Vietnam war for which she believes the space race has become a shield.

The third voice of the novel is from the next generation. Wright, the unsuspecting consequence of a desert romance, becomes the by-product of his parent’s wars, denied a clear future without first finding his cause.

America Was Hard To Find is an ambitious attempt to capture three turbulent decades of political unrest. A striking voice, visceral and electric, Kathleen Alcott is an author to watch.