A series of child abductions near the Andes Mountains lands a Peruvian archaeologist and an American FBI agent deep in an ancient Incan mystery. At the foot of a crumbling sacrificial altar on an Andes mountaintop, Nina Ramirez, an archaeology professor at Cuzco University in Peru, makes two stunning discoveries. One is the mummified body of an Inca girl buried five centuries ago. The other is the corpse of a young boy, recently reported missing, now unearthed in a freshly dug grave—and dressed in the same distinctive ritual shawl as the ancient victim. It’s a clue Nina’s ex-lover, FBI agent Adam Palma, never wanted to find. A hostage retrieval specialist, Adam has been enlisted to find the son of a State Department official kidnapped in Lima—just one in a series of child abductions reported throughout the South American country. But as his path converges with Nina’s, he must contend with a new fear: Someone is reviving the ancient Inca tradition of human sacrifice. With the help of a mysterious young boy, Nina and Adam’s investigation will lead them into the endless unknown of the Amazon jungle to follow the shadow of a legendary conquistador. But to solve a twenty-first-century mystery, they will first have to face one in Adam’s own savage and distant past: his link to the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
Author
MICHAEL ELIAS was born and raised in upstate New York. He has worked in motion pictures, television and stage as an actor, writer, producer, and director in New York, Los Angeles, and London. He was a member of The Living Theatre and acted in The Brig by Kenneth Brown in New York and London. At WarnerBros he and Rich Eustis created and produced the award-winning series "Head of the Class" that ran for five seasons on ABC starring Howard Hesseman and Billy Connolly. Elias wrote and directed the acclaimed jazz drama "Lush Life" starring Forest Whitaker, Jeff Goldblum, Don Cheadle, and Cathy Baker. Mr. Elias was nominated as Best Director in the Cable Ace Awards. His produced screenplays include "The Jerk", "The Frisco Kid", "Serial", "Envoyez les Violons", and "Young Doctors in Love". His play "The Catskill Sonata" about blacklisted artists premiered in Los Angeles directed by Paul Mazursky. The LA Weekly named it number one in its list of ten best plays of the year. His new novel YOU CAN GO HOME NOW will be published by HarperCollins on June 23, 2020. Elias is a member of Writer's Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on its Foreign Language Committee. He is also a member of the WGA, the DGA, and PEN. He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland with a degree in mathematics and philosophy. Michael Elias lives in Los Angeles and Paris.
