Sassafras

A need for adventure drives New Zealander Garry Carter deep into the Golden Triangle to reinvigorate his life. Garry gets more than he bargains for at every turn and is transformed in the process.

Two thousand litres of sassafras oil is enough ingredient to manufacture 2.5 million tablets of pure MDMA aka Ecstasy with a street value of over 30 Million Euros. Sassafras oil is difficult to make, harder to find and almost impossible to smuggle. Garry Carter is 39 and starving for adventure and a sense of meaning in his life. He decides to put everything on the line – including his life – to deliver this huge shipment from where it is produced high up in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia to the port town of Mawlamyine in Myanmar. Garrys’ Cambodian partners, Fa and Dang, are river traders. Between them, the father-and-son team have 70 years of experience navigating the spectacular river routes of South-East Asia – and dealing with the corrupt officials and soldiers along the way. Garry’s Dutch partners are drug manufacturers who have the skill and experience to navigate the European drug trade. The Cambodians and Dutch are ruthless. Garry, a New Zealander, isn’t. He’s just looking for a good time, then he unexpectedly falls for the beautiful Noy. The stakes are high: his money or his life.

Born in New Zealand in 1972 meant growing up in a time of great social and environmental change. Passionate people filled the news daily inspiring all who listened to have a voice, an opinion and something to say. I write because I love it. The process touches me deeply and rewards me for my efforts. Sassafras is my first novel. I live to travel. I have a life in New Zealand.