Mateo Xavier Manuel Rodriguez Aguerra-Veracruz, known to everyone as Penco (slang for "orphan") is an artist from northern New Mexico. Twelve years ago, Penco hitchhiked to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to start a new life. Single-minded about his painting and haunted by memories of the lost world of his childhood, he has become a recluse. When Penco starts to work as a bus driver, the chaotic streets and characters of Juárez begin to reconnect him with the world. He spends time with friends from El Café Misión, a local bar frequented by the elusive Gabriella, a fellow artist; Penco's best friend Frederico, the head chef at the only four-star restaurant in the city; Twain de Vaca, a American film studies student who irritates Penco with his admiration; and a German tightrope walker, Heinrich Damrosch. Ultimately, Penco's friends, the bus passengers, and encounters with three strangers allow him to confront the haunting images and fears from his childhood, a necessary step if he is ever to return home. Ann McGlinn lived and worked in Juárez in the 1990s, before the city became most known as a place of violence. With a poet's economy of style, she has captured the gritty essence of the city and its vibrant communities in those years.

Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Ann McGlinn graduated from Indiana University and received her master's in fine arts from the University of Montana. She lived in both the Chama Valley of Northern New Mexico and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where she absorbed the smells and colors and music of the region that she brings to life in El Penco. She now lives with her family in Chicago, where she teaches at the Latin School of Chicago.