A New Kind of Zeal
by Michelle Warren
Tristan is sweating it out hitching a ride in New Zealand, 2030, having just retired from Peace-making army duty in the Middle East. Rau, a Maori priest, takes him fishing, and there they meet the mysterious Joshua. Now on a life-changing road-trip to Wellington, the heart and power of the nation, Rau is finding a new kind of faith, but Tristan knows he must end the growing threat of Joshua.Tristan Blake is sweating it out trying to hitch a ride past Kerikeri, up north. It is summer in New Zealand, 2030: the temperature is rising, and Tristan is looking to get away from it all, after retiring from Peace-making army duty in the Middle East.An old red Holden Ute pulls up on the side of the road, with fishing lines strapped in the back. A Maori priest, Rau Petera, is offering him a ride to Ninety Mile Beach.Keen to fish, Tristan agrees: but there on the expansive sand, trying to escape the rising tide, Rau and Tristan stumble across the mysterious Joshua Davidson, from Kaitaia. Rau follows Joshua back into the rising sea, and Joshua catches him a massive snapper, with no bait.Now Rau and Tristan find themselves driving Joshua on a road-trip like no other, down the centre of the North Island and toward the Beehive in Wellington, the ruling power and heart of the nation. Joshua is reminding Rau of someone: he is finding a new kind of faith. But Tristan is being thrown into increasing confusion and dismay, when he finally realizes what he must do to end the growing threat of Joshua.A New Kind of Zeal is a spiritual and psychological suspense: a travel adventure seeking out the heart of family and friendship, confronting loss, pain and corruption on the road back home.