Under the Southern Cross

The narrative follows a young Franciscan sent to minister among laborers on a mountainous estate after a conquistador replaces indigenous workers with enslaved Africans; his mission and conscience prompt journeys across high Andean passes and encounters with remnants of pre‑conquest belief, including a mysterious figure linked to Inca tradition. Interwoven episodes trace a companion's mistakes, revenge, and reconciliation, a search for a lost sovereign and a fabled golden city, and a recurrent celestial motif that guides characters between homeland and the New World. Themes of faith, cultural collision, colonial exploitation, redemption, and the costs of empire are explored through episodic travel and personal trials.