What if. . . .

Greeks and Trojans reimagined in Vietnam; women as unspoken victims--and unsung heroes--of war; all of humanity as inherently schizophrenic? These are some of the fascinating ideas raised by this remarkable first novel.

Trapped in an abandoned French fortress during the Vietnam War, a group of American soldiers, their two female prisoners, and a nearby village of women are thrown together by a besieging enemy, a gold statue, and an unnaturally violent monsoon. War, deception, religion, greed, plunder, heroism; all actors seem to be playing out the ancient Trojan War in the 20th century jungles of Southeast Asia. Yet one key participant may be orchestrating the conflict from the confines of a 21st century mental institution, spurred on by the Voices of a timeless, arguing God and Goddess. Greeks and Trojans are recast as contemporary men and women locked in a struggle to survive. Most chillingly, post-traumatic stress disorder triggers schizophrenia, as a complex weave of past and future eventually lead to the deceptively simple mystery of a skeleton wating patiently in a tunnel.