Misfortune’s Wake By JOE KILGORE

A young American, seeking escape from a tragic event that haunts him, takes a job with an international conservation organization in the foreign port of Retiro de Santos. There, events begin to multiply that menace him both physically and emotionally. He becomes romantically involved with a local artist, and platonically involved with a young girl being forced into prostitution. His environmental group begins to be sabotaged by a clandestine consortium attempting to turn a non-profit wildlife refuge into a for-profit resort. His coworker dies mysteriously. His young friend is shanghaied. Finding himself on the wrong side of unjust laws, he must decide whether to act or abdicate responsibility. As he teeters precariously on the edge of a decision that affects not only him, but also those he cares for, he’s swept into a caldron of hidden agendas and violent retribution. Then a raging storm barrels ashore to threaten not only the American, but everyone and everything in its path.