Bruce Alterman

Fear in Phoenicia Bruce Alterman

Steve Nadler is a doctor at a Harlem medical clinic in New York. He was having a day like any other until a woman stumbled into his waiting room with a knife wound to the ribs. The injured woman subsequently dies, but not before Steve notices and records a strange tattooed map on her upper thigh.

Steve shares the photo of the tattoo with his attractive female neighbor who directs him to a private investigator. The PI makes a shocking discovery: the tattoo is a map denoting the location of the fabled treasure of infamous early twentieth-century gangster, Dutch Schultz. Unfortunately, Steve isn't the only one who knows about the woman's tattoo.

The New York City medical examiner enlists the help of his friend, a Manhattan police captain, and the two pals hatch a plan to hunt for Schultz's treasure in the forest surrounding the sleepy town of Phoenicia, New York. Steve and his crew have similar ambitions and arrive in Phoenicia at the same time. However, neither party anticipates the shocking evil that lurks within the dark notches of the Catskill Mountains.