Unlike the United States, Mexico took shape suddenly and abruptly. Earlier civilizations systematically were destroyed and newcomers took over. There was no systematic formation of boundaries and possessions. While the first English pilgrims clung perilously to a few acres of Massachusetts forest, Mexico already had laws, churches, mines, shipbuilding, riots and a compelling mestizo conscience. This narration takes readers through Mexico City at night and in the daytime, through its suburbs rich and poor, into its ceremonies - Christian and pre-Christian - and on journeys with reformers, rebels, manipulators, workers. It unravels "The Imaginary State of Petroleo" (which is more real than you might think), explores the orchards and landed estates of northeastern Mexico and the deserts where ancient cave paintings mark the existence of lost cultures and where drug dealers have established hidden landing strips. From rural villages in the northwest through Tijuana and the melee that is life on the U.S.-Mexican border, and from Baja and the cultivated coastal plains to the changing rhythms of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Yucatan, the experiences, opinions and adventures of Mexicans from all walks of life form a mosaic designed to perplex, provoke and entertain.