John Alcock, a specialist in the ecology of the American Southwest, introduces us to the lives and loves of desert insects as they forage through his backyard oasis. Two male earwigs caught in each other's pincers battle for a prized female. A female mantis finishes copulating, beheads her mate, and cannibalizes his body for its precious protein. Soaring above, a retinue of drone honey bees pursue their queen on her nuptial flight. The one who succeeds in mating with her will fertilize up to ten thousand eggs. With each gritty detail, Alcock pieces together the entire ecosystem of his desert paradise. We discover the chains of survival that link species - how a simple compost heap becomes a complex ecology of beetles, wasps, worms, and birds.