Against the Current

 The premise: You take two boys who meet at age 12 and then show their relationship 25 years later. One has his promise taken from him by the controlling influence of first, the bully, and later, the grand manipulator. 

What begins as a story of constant abuse and the struggle to break free, turns into a psychological suspense thriller, as not all is what it seems. The victim is in some ways as calculating as the bully, and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. The power hungry manipulator will stop at nothing to keep his power, and to keep his golden ticket from rising up against him. 

One moment of bravery becomes the catalyst that ignites the war of attrition. With the help of a kindred spirit, the victim realizes that to break free from the tyranny of oppression, the bully has to be thoroughly stopped. A chess match of deathly proportions ensues within a thirty-six hour period that leaves several people dead and the two men facing each other in a classic battle of, "to the death."

Against the Current answers the question of what happens if the bully is still in your life after twenty-five years and you've been pushed hard enough to fight back. The characters are rich and believable, true to themselves. The setting is a mid-sized Iowa town. Evil comes in many forms and wears many faces. Against the Current explores the evil behind the need to manipulate others, and the inner strength of goodness that compels some of us to stand up to that evil.