Set in an unnamed Portuguese village against a background of severe rural poverty, THE IMPLACABLE ORDER OF THINGS is told from the various points of view of two generations of men and women, hardened by hunger and toil and driven by a fate beyond them to fulfill their roles in the never-ending cycle of retribution and death. José, a quiet sheepherder, sees his happiness crumble when the 'Devil' tells him he is being cuckolded. Old Gabriel offers wise counsel while a different kind of love story develops: Moisés and Elias, twins attached at the tips of their little fingers and unable to live without each other, find their tender communion shattered when Moisés falls in love with the local cook. And, of course, there is the Devil himself. Love may be a luxury, but there are moments of the greatest tenderness among even the most unlikely lovers.

Written with subtle prose and powerful imagery, THE IMPLACABLE ORDER OF THINGS is a novel of haunting beauty, and introduces American readers to the astounding, poetic voice of José Luís Peixoto.