In a small West Texas town on the cusp of the new millennium, a lifelong cowboy wonders if a new semiconductor plant will ensure a future for his son or eliminate the only way of life he's ever known.
When Trace Malloy and Blaine Witherspoon collide on a desolate West Texas highway, their fender bender sets the tone for escalating clashes that will determine the future of the town of Conquistador.
Malloy, a ranch manager and lifelong cowboy, knows that his occupation—and his community—are dying. He wants new-millennium opportunities for his son, even though he failed to summon the courage to leave familiar touchstones behind.
Witherspoon, an ambitious, Lexus-driving techie, offers a solution. He moves to Conquistador to build and run a state-of-the-art semiconductor plant that will bring prestige and high-paying technology jobs to revive the town—and advance his own career.
As the two head toward an inevitable collision course, they're forced to confront their deepest fears and conflicting views on technological progress—facing the choice to become enemies or, ultimately, to unite in a shared search for meaning across the sweeping Texas landscape.
The Big Empty, the debut novel from longtime journalist and nonfiction author Loren C. Steffy, combines a sweeping appreciation for history and the struggles of small-town America with an examination of technology and the social and economic changes that come over time.