Avatar Dawn

About the Book

Stephen Bentfield: aggressive, brash, and brilliant. At 32, the sole owner of Bentfield Technologies, Inc., (BTI) a $100 million information technology firm in Bethesda, Maryland. But his life changes forever in the spring of 1993. Estranged from his wife for over a month and plagued by strange, and seemingly stress-induced dreams and sleepwalking episodes, his whole life begins to unravel when he finds a mysterious faded, bloodstained piece of paper in his pocket that says "REMEMBER." It randomly causes him to burst into inexplicable visions involving people and places he's never seen.

He continues to lose his grip on reality when he meets Adam Testavar, the intimidating sole owner of one of the world's largest computer companies. Testavar expresses interest in buying BTI, but Bentfield immediately senses Testavar is not quite what he seems to be. Testavar's animal-like eyes practically burn holes into him during their meeting and it is only afterwards that Bentfield realizes they don't blink.

From this point on events in Bentfield's life move him closer to the edge of despair. He is attacked by a mysterious stranger in the middle of the night and nearly strangled to death. He stabs the intruder in the throat, but when he turns on the light there's no body or blood, just dark contusions around his own neck and the eerie suspicion that his own hands did it.

The next day he finds out that Terence Appleby, an associate of Testavar's whom he met recently, has been murdered in the same manner. Wondering if he did it in some strange sleepwalking fit and questioning his sanity and self-destructive behavior, he seeks out a childhood friend, Dr. John Hollenbeck. While talking to Hollenbeck, he suddenly goes into a trance, which a fascinated Hollenbeck records with a tape recorder. In a strange voice, Bentfield narrates events from ancient Mesopotamia, the crucifixion of Christ, and the unrevealed facts surrounding the death of Adolf Hitler. Despite urgings from a troubled and fearful Hollenbeck to seek further help, he stubbornly returns home, determined to face his demons.

Hollenbeck takes the tape to a reincarnation specialist but upon leaving is mugged by an unseen stranger who steals it. The stranger is Alexander, the son of Robert Caranal who is the man who actually killed Hitler and then vanished into hiding with a mysterious book Hitler had been seeking. Alexander contacts Bentfield, tells him that his life and the lives of everyone he cares about are in danger, and asks to meet with him. Bentfield agrees.

During their meeting, Alexander, who also doesn't blink his eyes, is very cryptic, but tells Bentfield that he is not reincarnated but is involved in something world-threatening that has been going on for many, many years. He also tells Bentfield that Testavar will try to kill him because of the strange piece of paper he possesses. Alexander explains that the paper causes visions in him and only him (though he refuses to say why) that yields clues to the whereabouts of this book. The book holds a mysterious unknown secret that Testavar doesn't want found at any cost. Alexander says they must go on a journey, beginning with Berlin, in an effort to find the book before Testavar. Many questions go through Bentfield's mind, but fearing for his life as well as those he loves and having no other recourse, he once again agrees.

Bentfield and Alexander then begin an odyssey that starts at the secret remains of Hitler's bunker, and takes them to hidden places that hold mysterious secrets in Brazil, Egypt and beyond. Alexander believes that if they can retrace the last days of Hitler and Robert Caranal, they can find the book. Testavar desperately wants to stop them before they find a secret that will put and end to his plot involving the President and other world leaders before it reaches its horrific fruition on June 6th. The story concludes in a fantastic confrontation between

About the Author

Michael Haldas is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction to include short stories, articles, and numerous other professional materials. Avatar Dawn is his first novel. He lives with his wife in Germantown, Maryland.