The Conduit by Phillip Macko

Inspired by true events.

In the 1980’s, a cult known as The Celestial Temple shocked the world when its members died in a ceremonial mass suicide in the mountain community of Bolsiver they formed in Quebec, Canada. Three decades later to the day, an eerily similar ritual leads to death in a sleepy Illinois town.

Former counterintelligence officer turned author Nathan Badger walked away from covert operations for a quiet life of writing and rock climbing...until the night his missing lover Abby reappears in his driveway, tortured, disoriented, and determined to take her own life. When San Diego Sheriff’s Department Detective Drew Cavanaugh targets Badger as the prime suspect in Abby’s assault, he’s forced to dust off his sleuthing skills to focus on two simple goals: track down Abby’s abductors and bring them to justice.

Badger’s quest for answers plunges him deep into the nightmare world of his forgotten past. Every step in his investigation leads him closer to uncovering a link between Abby’s abduction and clandestine government experiments. Every discovery unlocks yet more memories he never knew existed. Memories connecting Badger to the events at Bolsiver, and to Paradign, a new age belief system brokering in the re-writing of its member’s perceptions. Memories powerful people will sacrifice anything to keep hidden. Memories placing the lives of Badger and countless others at risk…unless he can piece together the puzzle in time to stop another series of horrific crimes from occurring. Spanning the western hemisphere from the beaches of San Diego to the plateaus of Bogota, THE CONDUIT is an adult psychological thriller inspired by actual events