Sherry Schubert

Celtic Compass, Part II Sherry Schubert

A blended American/Irish family struggles with divided loyalties in a time of crisis. Bohemian Paula from Colorado and Irish Catholic Thomas, newly engaged after forty years of separation and one marriage for each, try to prevent two of their seven adult children from establishing a relationship beyond stepsiblings. Thomas goes so far as to forbid their alliance. Both thirty years old, Paula's daughter Kiri and Thomas' son Michael vow on the sly to chart their own course by the Celtic compass his father gave her. While on a secret assignment for his news agency, BBC reporter Michael disappears in the Middle East two years before Arab Spring uprisings focus all eyes on the atrocities perpetrated throughout that region. The daughters are still at each other's throats; the sons remain aloof. Conflicting loyalties force violent reactions within the clan. Who among them will put personal life and hostilities on hold to help find Michael? Thomas and Paula examine where their loyalties lie--with one another, their own child first, the youngest or the weakest. As secrets unfold, members of this transatlantic blended family search their hearts to determine what relevance ancient beliefs and conservative religious traditions have in today's world.