Border Crossing is a picaresque coming-of-age story of a Texas boy's pursuit of manhood. After growing up on a small horse ranch near the little town of Marfa in the southwest part of the state, not far above the Mexican border, Del Ray Gunn must cope with events that will have a profound impact on his future, including his father's death, his mother's reappearance in his life, and 9/11. The novel takes its characters and readers deep into issues that have become pervasive in contemporary America: broken families, the effect of war on innocent men who are still emotional boys, controversies arising from illegal immigration and its real effect on the lives of residents as well as immigrants.