During the late 1970s, Tiptree lived for months on the eerie windswept shore of the Yucatan, and the true protagonist of this book is neither the Tiptree narrator nor the manifestations of ancient Maya civilization, but rather the Quintana Roo itself as a living, pulsating entity that envelops the reader within a uniquely alien ambience. Following Tiptree's introduction are these unforgettable nouvelles of weird fantasy: "e;What Came Ashore at Lirios, "e; "e;The Boy Who Waterskied to Forever, "e; and "e;Beyond the Dead Reef.