About the Book:

When Troy Foster announces to his family that he will be vacationing in England without them, time stands still for his young son, Jerome. Who will take care of Shadrach, the powerful and formidable billy goat at the back of the house? But far more important matters are soon at stake.

Jerome has yet to learn that appearances can be deceptive.  As Plato illustrated in his allegory of the cave, there is a more intricate reality to life than we are allowed to see.

At a benefit concert for children, a strange occurrence turns Jerome’s world upside down. Then a whirlwind of change blows the boy from one melting pot to another. And just when it seems his life is settling down, Jerome finds himself faced with even more challenges. In the Big Apple, it’s the cryptic content of an anonymous letter. And then in Kingston, a traumatized child in a hospital ward. Who is this child? What secret is he guarding? How will his revelation change the future of an unknown malefactor, who flourishes in his silence?

About the Author:

Algernon Michael Roark spent his early years in rural Jamaica. He describes his birth home as a mountainous estate filled with the haunting calls of birds, crawling and creeping creatures hidden in exotic plants. It was a place where he could stand on tall boulders and listen to the mysterious echoes of his voice below. Educated at Fordham University, Algernon teaches people with developmental disabilities. He feels that if the world was a different place, many of those labeled as "retarded" could lead productive lives side by side with the rest of mainstream society.