Skywater

the long version

After 40 years in the Sonora desert, Albert and Hallie Ryder discover that tailings from abandoned copper mines have poisoned their groundwater. In order to protect the desert animals they love from drinking water that may kill them, the Ryders foul their cistern, the only reliable water source in the area. This triggers a crisis of survival for a coyote Hallie has named Brand X. Brand X begins a quest for water, for the mythical Skywater, which attracts a cadre of coyote followers and brings him into contact with a number of two-legged desert dwellers. This book explores in intimate detail the southwestern desert life of coyotes from the point of view of the coyotes themselves.