Farmer

The story follows Johnny McCord, a field agent on a Sahara reforestation project who contends with grazing nomads that devastate newly planted trees and with indifferent central administrators. When thousands of goats overrun eucalyptus transplants, disagreements over patrols and the Commission's policies intensify, and hints emerge that someone may be deliberately sabotaging the program and willing to resort to murder. Tensions between practical fieldwork and remote bureaucracy, the hazards of working in a harsh environment, and the collision of conservation aims with nomadic livelihoods propel a compact, suspenseful narrative that blends technical problem-solving with rising suspicion and moral conflict.