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After the death of her closest two friends, young Daphne Lessing suffers a loss of faith, then a lapse in memory. Confronted with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a pregnancy she neither planned nor is able to explain, Daphne is forced into a terrible choice: lose her child or lose her mind. "The Substance of Things Hoped For" traces Daphne's desperate search for the past she cannot recall, the father she never had, and the child she may never know.

Miguel is the perfect coyote: dedicated, single-minded, his record unblemished. His home is the winding path of the migrant: the back alley gravel, the crumbled pavement, and last - the river. Despite this perfect record, Miguel is no stranger to death. His nickname, "El Maldito" hints of what we will soon see for ourselves, for Miguel seems haunted by the dead and dying. He comes upon them on desert roads; he hears their confessions, and takes part in their dying wishes. Miguel's house, much like the man himself, stands alone; yellowed photographs breathe the sigh of a life given over to a singular purpose - crossing his people to a new life. There are signs that this quiet struggle is soon to break. When a terrible wreck draws Miguel to the roadside, the order of his life comes to ruin, for Elena, the wreck's lone survivor, recognizes Miguel.