Cards in the Cloak

How hard should we strive to fulfill the mission of a dead stranger? Somewhat hard? With minimal effort? Not at all? What if that mission is to provide a cure for a deadly epidemic? Somewhat hard? With maximum effort? Until it basically kills us?

Norman Jensen is sent to fight at the front lines of World War I during the waning days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive when a fellow soldier, Maxie McWalter, shows him the discovery of the ages, a cure for the murderer of many, influenza, and offers for him to try it out. Reluctantly, Norman takes the "cure." His headache immediately disappears, and he’s convinced that Maxie has made an awesome discovery. So, when Maxie shares his plan to sell the “cure” and stop the flu epidemic in its tracks, Norman wishes him luck. Then Maxie dies, right before Norman’s eyes.

Norman has no idea what the ingredients are that make up this cure, nor does he know how to duplicate them, but because he knows that it works, he’s dead set on getting the formula out to the public on Maxie’s behalf. However, when he finally has the opportunity to recover the ingredients, after having stashed them during the war for safekeeping, he discovers that they are decaying, and if he doesn’t identify them soon, the rest of the world may lose out on the most important medicinal discovery of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, life happens, and so does death, and death is kind of greedy, and punctual, and death has a plan for Norman, whether Norman fulfills his mission or not. Can Norman reason with death, or even fight it? And what's with death's stack of playing cards?

"Cards in the Cloak" is the adventurous coming-of-age story about one man's mission to complete the plans of another while juggling work, family, and, of course, the occasional parry against a scythe-wielding spectre, and making every effort not to lose what's most valuable to him along the way. Pick it up today.

2017 Edition includes new scenes and a set of Readers' Group Discussion Questions for those who enjoy that sort of thing.