Rob Smith

Mcgowan's Retreat Rob Smith

The evening news is rife with reports of corporate excess. Public outrage is of little consequence, however, since in-competence and greed might be considered moral failings, but not criminal offenses. Shelly Martin is beginning to suspect otherwise. It is not that she's becoming paranoid, but because the parade of CEO's announcing bonuses and bankruptcy are not just talking-heads for her. They are, or were, her personal friends. More precisely, they were her church parishioners in a small South Dakota town that is also home to the Elkhorn Institute, a financial "think-tank." When Shelly disappears, Davis McGowan tries to follow a twisted path of evidence that seems to be evaporating before his eyes. McGowan's Retreat is a timely, fictional account of people who live just outside the spotlight of the media. It moves quietly at a deadly pace, and will give pause to those who wonder about the link between the present economic crisis, corporate ideology, and personal choice. The Lake Erie Islands and Dayton, Ohio are the setting for this fictional account of the financial meltdown which began in the fall of 2008. McGowan discovers how a market strategy spawns a series of unintended consequences and shattered lives.