For centuries, Bahia, Brazil was the center of world cocoa production. In 1970, student resistance to the military dictatorship erupted across Brazil. Trouble in the Land of Cocoa begins when a newly graduated teacher, Severino, becomes involved in a university bombing. Several military police are killed and he is the prime suspect. Through a series of unlikely events, two American women, a Mexican couple and Severino come together in a tragic and deadly accident in Rio de Janeiro. Or was it an accident? Investigation and intrigue run from Brazil to Mexico and the United States. Along the way, the reader encounters diverse personal histories and human obsessions, along with ancient archeology and diverse landscapes.