Tom Frist

Through Fire and Water: a Novel Set in the Rio San Juan Region of Nicaragua Tom Frist

It is 1980 when Tennessean Stan Hollins and his family arrive in Nicaragua, where the government has just been overthrown. Seeking to make amends for the 1854 destruction of a Nicaraguan town by his U. S. Navy captain ancestor, Stan founds Acción, an organization that provides medical services to poor rural communities. Proud of the good he is doing, Stan thinks that he has finally attained his life's ambition. Unfortunately he could not be more wrong.

Four years later, on a visit to one of Acción's health centers on the Río San Juan, Stan and his group are asleep when explosions suddenly rock the farm where they are staying. Stan is caught in the middle of a vicious surprise attack by Contra rebels and his life is changed forever. Wounded and hailed as a hero, Stan soon makes choices that lead to loss and humiliation. To escape his pain, he starts life anew in the tiny, isolated costal town once destroyed by his ancestor.

In this adventurous tale set in one of the wildest, most beautiful, and historic regions of Nicaragua, a man struggles to redeem himself and his family name as both he and his adopted country fight for their futures.