Aleks Lyons

The Last Machaca Aleks Lyons

In the jungles of Ecuador, the mysterious death of a Texaco crew-member signals the return of a lost legend. Meanwhile, in Southern California, the successful and ordered life of psychologist Michael Waites begins to unravel as he finds himself falling in love with Lydia, one of his married clients. Attempting to resolve his growing internal struggles, Michael escapes to his aunt's estate in Ecuador where he becomes obsessed with the Machaca, a mythical creature from the 12th century that local Indians say still exists in the depths of the Amazon jungle. The myth surrounding the shape-shifting Machaca is shrouded in fear and mystery as those who have seen it rarely live to speak of it. Legend has it that if you live your life in fear, the Machaca comes to you in the form of an insect-like creature with a bite that creates insatiable and fatal sexual urges. However, if you live a life based on love, the Machaca comes to you in the form of a woman with healing powers. Michael's determined search to find this creature drives him deeper and deeper into the darkness of the treacherous jungle where he fights for survival, questions his sanity, and confronts precisely what and whom he left behind in California. The Last Machaca plunges you in the midst of the intersecting journeys of man and woman and their confrontation with sexuality and twelfth-century myth. You will find yourself on an exotic adventure through the heart of the jungle and the heart's inner landscape.