Paperback. Pub Date: June 1998 Pages: 192 in Publisher: Harper Collins The quest for an elusive amphibian in the mountains of violence-torn Haiti-ings together an unlikely pair of hunters - American herpetologist Victor Grigg and his Haitian guide Thierry Adrien - whose individual stories unfold and intertwine in a mesmerizing tale of love. sex. and fraternal rivalry; of the propagation and extinction of species in the natural world; and of the mysterious forces of nature that govern the fate of all living creatures. In the Palm of Darkness is a compelling tale that reads like a murder mystery but also reveals a highly sophisticated and refined literary voice.