In the Desert

In the desert, a phone begins to ring...

A traumatized movie star returns to his dying hometown to find the woman he loves has disappeared. He vows to find her.
Told through an innovative non-linear narrative, and the lens of five friends, In the Desert takes the reader on a gut-wrenching rollercoaster ride through the shadows of a near-future America, as the consequences of a bartered 24 hours from their childhood unravel in betrayal, murder, undying love, and a phone booth at the end of the world.

Praise for Barbara Byar and In the Desert

"A propulsive, original and startling read. If the likes of Ford and Wolff had 'dirty realism', Byar - with her collection of misfits, dreamers and lost souls - is pioneering a path in 'dirty cosmic realism'. A striking debut."

-Noel O'Regan, author of Though the Bodies Fall, shortlisted for the James Tait Black Fiction Prize

"In the Desert is a wildly imaginative, all-encompassing, barn burner of a book...I am in awe of Byar's inventive, nonlinear narrative that pulls the reader in with rich, unsentimental prose, weaving a gripping tale of love, friendship, and betrayal in a dying world."

-Sabrina Hicks, author of Coyote Girl

"In the Desert evokes the danger and magic that lies in the parched landscape and in the restless hearts of those who live there. Barbara Byar's cinematic writing creates an electric portrait of lives spinning on their edge."

-Rónán Hession, author of Leonard & Hungry Paul, shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year

"In the Desert is the most wildly original and compelling novel that I've read in the last few years. Fans of Emily St. John Mandel, David Lynch, and Wim Wenders will find themselves right at home in this character-driven speculative adventure like no other. But be warned. Your heart will break. You will definitely shed a few tears. You'll be on the edge of your seat. And-most of all-your faith in love and the human spirit will be renewed."

-Casey Stegman, author of Kill Current

"In the Desert is a wild fucking ride, man! Barbara Byar writes without fear and leaves nothing untouched: form, memory, time, love, death, and secrets. So many secrets. This novel invites you into a fever dream, one that will stay in your bones long after you wake up."

-Stephanie Austin, author of Burn

"A fever dream of dust-blown horizons, carnivals, quantum transporters, Hollywood ambition, and backroom abortions, In the Desert peels back the mysteries of its characters layer by layer, with one revelation giving way to another buried beneath. In her debut novel, Barbara Byar tells a story of shifting landscapes-geographic, temporal, and personal-where each turn of the page feels like dunes reshaping in the arid desert wind."

-Jonathan Danielson, author of The Lowest Basin: Arizona Stories, longlisted for the PEN America Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection

"With In the Desert, Barbara Byar blends raw, unsparing grit lit with the shimmer of the surreal, where a galactic carnival, complete with a two-headed dog, collides with the dust and heat of a southwest desert. But at its core In the Desert is a love story-of dreams chased, passions rekindled, a mother's fierce devotion, and a kind of cosmic, unexpected love that defies all earthly rules."

-Andrew K. Clark, author of Where Dark Things Grow, shortlisted for the North Carolina Book Awards Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction