As Tractrix opens, aerospace engineer and recent widower Frank Morton is collecting an $86 million lottery jackpot. Coincidently, an old Viet Nam buddy shows up with a mysterious black sphere inscribed with what appear to be Maya hieroglyphics. Intrigued, Frank convinces his buddy and two other friends, an anthropologist and a newspaper researcher, to help him investigate the origin and purpose of the sphere. The search leads Frank and friends on a journey from Seattle to the secret military installations of Nevada and on to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Along the way, they attract the unwanted attention of government agents, Mexican Federales and an ancient Maya priest. They also stumble across a three thousand year old secret that suggests a possible link between the shamans of Mesoamerica and a race of alien explorers.

"Fasten your seatbelts for an engaging joyride through a labyrinth of riddles involving the ancient Maya, a U.S. military installation in the Nevada desert, and alien explorers from centuries past. Tractrix is a fast-paced yarn, based on intriguing historical perspective, and it's sure to keep you guessing and wondering right up until its surprising conclusion." Al Lohner, author of Prince of Avalon, and October Dreams

"R. J. Archer has crafted a fine first novel with Tractrix. If you like Clive Cussler's writing you will certainly love R. J. Archer's mesh of historical facts and culture with theories and speculations that have intrigued man for several decades." Steven Macon, Yellow30 Sci-Fi

"Many people don't look to the small independent presses for authors to try, this is perhaps one of the biggest losses to the reader as there are some hidden gems awaiting discovery, using Tractrix as an example... RJ Archer, I believe is one of the authors to watch and I eagerly await the further exploits of the NWIDI adventurers." Gareth Wilson, Falcata Times, Aug. 16, 2005