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The Judas Syndrome

Sometimes only in betrayal is love even possible. Joshua McAdams knows how to hate, especially authority. So when he graduates from Stanford and joins an anti-American guerrilla insurgency in Colombia, he must learn how to love, or lose everything. Present day: the Drug War has failed. Two Stanford students on vacation in Colombia are kidnapped by a new guerrilla group fighting to legalize cocaine production. When it turns out their leader is Joshua's old mentor from Stanford, he decides to join the guerrillas. Together they recruit and train other backpackers to carry out a series of bombings in Bogotá. Success is within reach -- the president of Venezuela threatens to invade if the group's demands are not met -- but there is a spy in their midst. Captured by American commandos, Joshua tells the interrogators his story. He is forced to confront the truth of what he's done, and in recognizing his own betrayal, finally learns, too late, to love. Complete at 85,000 words, THE JUDAS SYNDROME is a character-driven political/espionage thriller. It is about Colombia in the same way THE QUIET AMERICAN is about Vietnam or THE MISSION SONG is about the Eastern Congo. I am the author of Lonely Planet's new guidebook to Colombia and lived in Colombia for two years. Written with an insider's perspective on Colombia, this book will appeal to anyone who's ever hoisted a backpack, carried a guidebook, and wished for excitement on the road. I am currently seeking representation and a publisher for this title.