tonii marie kelly

YOUNG ADULT OCCULT THRILLER

Cuba 1980

Fifteen year old, aspiring artist Tomas Santos' belief in Fidel Castro begins to crack when he's ordered to turn against his best friend. As his doubts continue to grow, Tomas gets comfort only from a baseball glove that mysteriously links him to older brother, Antonio.

Suddenly the full force of Castro's oppressive regime falls on the family and his father is sent to prison. Their food rations are cut, they are shunned by friends and neighbors. Tomas' father wants the family to escape from Cuba and hints at a plan involving empty coffins.

As he struggles to please his father, Tomas is still linked to his brother through the mitt, which has powers he does not understand. Then the family learns that Antonio died fighting the war in Angola from Javier Rodriguez, a neighborhood spy chief with his own dark reasons for wanting the glove.

Tomas is plunged into the paranormal world of Santeria, a Cuban style voodoo. Any time he sleeps with the glove nearby, he has a recurring nightmare about his brother. Is Antonio trying to tell him something from beyond the grave?

Rodriguez continues to pressure the family. Tomas tries to escape on a raft. At the last moment, Antonio returns, claiming Tomas' help to succeed in a secret mission. It's a dangerous game with every move creating more risk for his friends and family. Suddenly and unexpected opportunity opens up. With ten thousand people claiming asylum from the Peruvian Embassy in Havana, Castro does the unthinkable and opens Mariel Bay with an

that Miami Cubans can come to collect their relatives.

Tomas has a final opportunity to escape. Will Antonio let him go?