Charles H Griswold III

Arcadia's Daughter Charles H Griswold III

Abigail Johnston died of scarlet fever on a remote farm in Maine in 1872 before realizing her youthful dreams of adventure and romance. On the day of her death at 19, her grieving parents posed with her lifeless body for a memento mori, a picture of the dead taken by an itinerant photographer. The picture trapped her soul in Gehenna, a place of torment ruled by Queen Lilith, Adam's obstinate first wife. Over a century later, a carpenter, David Austin finds her photo in an antique store in rural Maine and becomes obsessed with discovering her identity. He finds her forgotten grave in a forest after an improbably lucky search. While he is holding her photo in the cool spring twilight, a woman steps out of the shadows and extends her hand to him. "Sir, I need your help." It is Abigail. She has crossed over to the land of the living to ask David to find and destroy Moloch's chalice, the supreme power talisman of the shadowy Evil One, to prevent Queen and her children, the Lilim, from annihilating humankind, the Children of Eve, and occupying Earth. David and Abigail begin a quest in the land of the living and the realm of the dead to destroy Moloch's chalice and combat Lilith, the Lilim, and ultimately, the mysterious Evil One. David searches the world from Jerusalem to Idaho, following a gossamer trail of clues while being pursued by the Black Sun assassins. He is aided by a secret brotherhood founded by Moses. In a classic hero's journey, David must overcome his self-doubts and realize his true courage.