About The Book
The second narrative tracks Tommy, Beth, and Curtis as they grow up in rural Maryland, then suburban Texas—unaware of their shocking past in Holtzmann’s MK-ULTRA program. The smart, artistic Beth develops into a rebellious teenager whose search for alternative states of consciousness blends in with the drug-crazed culture of the late 1960s—until her love of books leads her to a career as a science fiction author. Gregarious, tough-guy Curtis dreams of joining the military. Meanwhile, Tommy, plagued by fears and destructive desires, is concerned about his unquenchable obsession to become President given his fascination with nuclear war. But he forges ahead, and when he joins the staff of a U.S. congressman, his political career seems set.
As the three siblings are pulled by invisible strings toward their predetermined futures, their puppetmaster’s plans are complicated by several individuals, including one of the program’s subjects, a fourteen-year-old Indian boy from a shamanic tribe in Mexico, and Holtzmann’s rash CIA assistant, a former Nazi SS concentration camp officer.
Years later, Curtis has a psychotic break and Beth, a startling vision. These developments and the detective work of a diligent therapist lead to their buried memories surfacing—but will it be enough to unravel the hidden tapestry of deception?
As much as the story addresses the appalling things powerful people sometimes do—it’s ultimately about psychological transformation and redemption, of lives lost, and then found.
