Deborah Bradseth / Stephen Goldhahn
What happens when time lines and family lines converge, and history and sanity are preserved only to the extent that one is willing to embrace madness? On the eve of the new millennium, John Samuel Weston, owner of a small biotech engineering firm in Haddonfield, New Jersey, is about to find out.Centered around the historic Greenwich Tea Burning of December 22, 1774, the narrative follows two parallel story lines over the same six-month period leading up to the events of December 22nd: one set in colonial New Jersey, 1774; the other in modern day Jersey, 1999. The story opens in 1999 as our hero, John Samuel Weston, wakes up in the psych ward of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital (Camden, NJ) recovering from an apparent psychotic break following a Labor Day weekend trip to Greenwich, Cumberland County, NJ. His friend and business partner, Bob Fenwick, experienced a similar “breakdown” on a July 4th fishing trip to Greenwich, which is what prompted John to go to Greenwich to investigate. In time, John comes to suspect that his recurring dreams and visions of 18th century time travel were real, and uncovers a common link between family lines, a certain variety of greenhead fly found only in this area, and a peculiar form of mental illness affecting this back-bay region since 1774—the so-called “curse of Greenwich.”Beyond historical science fiction, Greenwich a story of love and passion, a tale of family lines past and present, genetic engineering gone awry and the supernatural, as our modern day hero (John Samuel Weston) embarks on a mission of time travel to “lift the curse” that has rendered present day Greenwich a virtual ghost town. John’s quest becomes a burning obsession and race with time as he employs his biotech engineering skills and the unwitting aid of professional associates to “go back” and set things right before the window of opportunity forever closes with the passing millennium.
