David Knight has been plagued by dreams his entire life, only to have all memory of them vanish when he awakens. Now the dreams are coming with more frequency, and they seem to be drawing him to the Amazon. A scientist with a PhD in ichthyology and a dedication to learning all he can about lungfish, whose existence dates back to the Devonian era, David is determined to see what the Amazon holds. His hopes seem about to be answered when Dr. Carlos Avila contacts him. It seems the Brazilian archeologist discovered the remains of a previously undiscovered species on a tributary of the Amazon, and he’d like nothing better than for David to join the expedition to see if more of the creature can be found. Of course David leaps at the opportunity and flies to Pesadelo Bay to join the mismatched team. Once there, he discovers not only does Dr. Avila have his own agenda, but a former conquest as well as a friend who’d saved his life years before are part of the team and are engaged to be married. Meanwhile, the need to sail up the Amazon to find what ... or who ... is calling him there has become more and more pressing, and David must decide which is the most important -- learning what Dr. Avila really is searching for, or finding the answer to his dreams?

Lagoon of Dreams

“This is good, as there isn’t much room in the boot—ah, how do you say? The trunk.” He reached for my briefcase. “Let me take this for you.”


“Thank you.” I clapped my hat on my head and held onto my sports jacket with one hand while I switched the grip of my suitcase to the other.


The conversation as we walked out of the terminal was desultory: the health of my parents, my flight, the weather this time of year in Rio. Nothing was said about Dr. Avila’s find; each time I tried to bring the topic around to it, he would go off on a tangent. Apparently his discovery was being closely guarded, and I was more confused than ever as to why I’d been brought in on this.


“Come,” Dr. Avila said. “Let us go to my apartment here in the city. You can freshen up, and then I will take you for that Brazilian café I promised you so many years ago.”


Chapter 47