T (Paperback or Softback)

In 1997 four people suffering from debilitating and incurable ailments are suddenly and inexplicably cured after exposure to some tropical homeopathic remedy. Their lives and the lives of their families are obviously impacted by this remarkable occurrence knowing that they are no longer facing imminent death, or suffer through life with a permanent disability. Father Pavlos, a Greek Orthodox priest, becomes the steward of the leaves and is determined to return the magical herbs back to their original owner, Wyan Setiawan, an Indonesian doctor.

Almost five years later, in 2001, the four recipients—an engineer, a customs agent, a grade-school teacher’s young daughter and a police detective are all re-visited to see how their treatment has changed their lives. Did they make good use of their gift, or did they squander their second chance?

When Father Pavlos finally meets Dr. Setiawan in 2010, the discussion of what was ultimately done with the herbs comes to a startling climax that will cause one to re-examine their own sense of morality. Dr. Setiawan’s colleague and friend, a Surgical Oncologist, tries to understand the cosmological and religious implications of the treatment and his conclusions are remarkably intertwined with current science and ancient mysticism.

Mitchell J. Rycus is an emeritus professor of urban planning whose career runs the gamut from aerospace engineering to academia. Rycus lives and works in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the author of three other novels, his most recent work, The Soil Is Dead, was released in June of 2012.