Detailed summary

In a story as unsettling as it is captivating, Jeremia Peterson, archaeologist and researcher born in the 1950s and a former student of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, takes us into the heart of buried memories—nearly erased from our collective consciousness.

This book is the result of several decades of passionate research, meticulous excavations, and deep reflections on human nature, society, and the relationship we maintain with the forgotten.

Through its pages, an entire ghost town rises before us: Reytac, a small forgotten hamlet in the California desert, once located on the road to Palm Springs, consumed by flames on April 9, 1861, and since vanished from maps as if it had never existed.

Reytac is a mystery. Among the ashes of this forgotten town, several children’s bodies were discovered, including that of young Gwendolyn Porter, forever frozen in the labyrinth of silence.
Why does no one speak of this tragedy? What justified the complete erasure of this town? Was it merely a catastrophe, or was there something else—more disturbing, darker still?

With heartbreaking determination, Jeremia Peterson rekindles the memory of a tragedy that History seems to have deliberately buried.

This testimony, filled with humanity, pain, and clarity, questions the silence of archives, the emptiness left by forgetfulness, and the ghosts we prefer to ignore rather than confront.
The author doesn’t merely present facts; he illuminates them with the insight of a philosopher, asking essential questions about our collective view of difference and the value we assign to each life.

Jeremia explores not only the history of Reytac, but also the broader history of prejudice and injustice endured by people with disabilities.

Is it a coincidence that so many vulnerable children perished that day? Why were the stories of their existence erased with such care?

And what does it really mean to “get used to” difference, when that difference is present from birth, like a silence one never chose?

At the crossroads of historical investigation, societal reflection, and existential quest, this book is a journey into the past—but also a mirror held up to the present.

It brings us face to face with Indigenous traditions, often misunderstood and here treated with respect and accuracy, far from stereotypes.

It invites deep questions about the human condition, resilience, and the invisibility of the most fragile among us.

And above all, on every page, you feel the passionate heartbeat of a man who refuses to let memory die.

Because beyond the ruins, the erased names, and the dust of bones, what Jeremia Peterson offers here is a voice.

A precious voice, where every word seems to whisper a forgotten secret.
A book that reads not just like a work of history, but like a song for the dead, a cry for the living, and an urgent call to never look away.