Marco's Gift

This highly charged romantic novel takes place on Taboga Island in the Bay of Panama. It is an island caught up in its past, suffering from poverty and superstition, owned by a nation oppressed by both church and state. The local island leader, Marco Rodriguez, is an enigmatic man, a teacher who cares deeply for his people's welfare. Though he has no official title, the islanders know him as the Devil Man, a figure from Panamanian legend. A third generation Devil Man, Marco inherited a "Stone" from his father. Accepting the "Stone," he has made a pact with the devil. The "Stone" is the Devil's Stone, a religious artifact embedded in his arm, giving him supernatural powers. U.S. university educated, Marco is torn by opposing worlds, one steeped in religious superstition, and the other riddled with immediate social, political and economic problems. He is secretly uncertain of the alleged power of his Stone. But who would he be without it? This is Marco's terror. Elizabeth Rogers, an elegant blonde from Boston, arrives on the island. She is a successful art dealer who is certain the artist Paul Gauguin, suffering from malaria and a patient in the island sanitarium (circa French Canal, 1887) painted while hospitalized. According to rumor, Gauguin's own journal writings, and Elizabeth's research, these Gauguin paintings exist, hidden somewhere on the island. Elizabeth intends to find them. Elizabeth finds refuge in her work. She will not permit herself to trust another human being. She carries her own "stone," the fear of love. Abandoned at an early age, Elizabeth still suffers from the sexual abuse inflicted on her by her stepfather when she was a child, followed by her mother's suicide. Slowly, Taboga draws Elizabeth into itself. Its beauty and history are seductive. The island's emerald green bay filled with villagers' fishing boats, the small coves of beaches, dense jungle mountain sides, and flowering fragrances are all deeply magnetizing. But the isla