Beheld: a Novel of Masalay

by Christopher Kelleher

Callie is an American nurse on vacation in Masalay — a former British colony of exquisite beaches and simmering conflicts. After an ill-fated excursion, the shy but headstrong Callie finds herself trapped in an ethnic feud. The experience leads to an unlikely bond with Rika, a haunted man with powerful ties. Their fevered relationship ends with Rika’s abduction — and Callie’s discovery that she’s pregnant.

Determined to find Rika, Callie ignores pressure to go back home. To survive, she must come to terms with Masalay and her own mistakes. Meanwhile, bitter adversaries elsewhere on the island have discovered signs of an impossible event: the conception of a divine child. As Callie fights to maintain integrity and build a fragile understanding of the life inside her, friends and enemies violently converge.

Writing with wit and intelligence, Kelleher delivers a tightly paced novel of powerful emotions and profound ideas.

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2013