Introduction: Guatemalan returnees in the aftermath of violence -- I: The dynamics of violence -- Migrating in search of land and a better future -- The escalation of violence in Ixcn and the Petén -- Witnesses, victims, and perpetrators of violence -- II: Reconstruction of livelihoods and identities -- Exile and return -- Constructing a new community -- community and identity -- Changing gender relations -- The returnees and the Guatemalan state -- The struggle continues.