Jeffrey Matthews

Forgiving Not Ourselves Jeffrey Matthews

A few terrible moments on an otherwise tranquil night...

A tragic fire, ruled an accident by local authorities, destroys an antique carousel - and also claims a life.

Kevin Ahern has returned to the small Midwest city of Hayes with an interesting proposal for the city he has adopted - to build them a brand new carousel from the ground up.

But Kevin and his friends soon find themselves faced with lingering questions about the fire and its aftermath.

An insurance claim, filed by the City, not only for loss of revenue, but for the loss of priceless carousel art and history, has brought a retired arson investigator to town - and no one likes the questions he's asking.

Was the fire really just an unfortunate accident?

If not, who started the fire?

Was it a simple case of arson,
or a calculated and planned act of hatred and vengeance?

But more importantly, who else may have been there that awful night,
and what was their involvement?

As the investigator zeros in on his suspects and their possible motives, other small town secrets begin to emerge.

And there is one person around whom everything seems to swirl: a wandering amnesiac with only one name, an unknown origin - burn scars branded into his palms and guilt seared into his soul.

If there is to be any forgiveness or redemption, it may lie buried with old secrets and hard truths that no wants to face.