Discuss the major area of conflict in this book. How was it resolved or why was it not resolved?

The dominant theme in this novel is Matt's humanity or lack thereof. In his youth, he is isolated because he is a clone, and when his presence is discovered by Mr. Alacran, Matt is imprisoned in the Big House by Rosa. He is treated poorly and regarded as an animal by the Alacrans and their servants. Only Celia and Tam Lin treat Matt like a human and expect him to behave as such. Although Maria befriends Matt, she compares him to a wolf and makes allowances for his moral faults because he is not really human. She is embarrassed when he demands a kiss at his birthday party. Tom torments Matt for being a clone, even showing MacGregor's clone to Matt and Maria at the hospital to further alienate Maria from Matt.

When El Patron suffers a heart attack, Matt is captured to be used for a heart transplant. Matt is only a clone, so sacrificing his life to save the life of El Patron is seen as acceptable. Luckily, Celia poisoned Matt with small amounts of arsenic so that his heart is too weak to be used by someone who is already as weak as El Patron. After El Patron dies, Mr. Alacran orders Tam Lin to destroy Matt, but Tam Lin saves Matt by sending him to Atzlan. In Atzlan, the Keepers treat all of the Lost Boys poorly, but they are especially mean to Matt, deeming him the aristocrat. After Jorge beats Matt, Matt is sent to the infirmary where the tattoo on his foot, reading "Property of Alacran Estate" is discovered, and when Jorge reveals this to the other boys, they stop defending Matt and Chacho. Matt finally reaches the Convent of Santa Clara, and Esperanza explains that Matt is now human since the original Matteo Alacran died and he is the only one still alive.