<p>Whatever became of Prospero&rsquo;s enchanted staff after he snapped it in two and buried it &lsquo;certain fathoms in the earth&rsquo; in Shakespeare&rsquo;s play <em>The Tempest</em>?</p><p>It was only a prop in a play, after all, so why was the staff now appearing to Martin Ropers? Martin had returned to a Greek island, trying to rekindle the spark that led to his highly successful first novel written in the &lsquo;70s, but shortly into his trip he&rsquo;d discovered the ancient staff and immediately lapsed into a coma. He would soon awaken to the persistent image in only one eye of a desolate island&ndash;where he grasps the staff.</p><p>Back home in Montana, Martin&rsquo;s situation takes a Shakespearean turn when he&rsquo;s stranded in his house with neighbors seeking shelter from a mysterious wildfire that has erupted on the ridge just above them. His troubles deepen when he must contend with a painful, life-threatening condition within his brain and, to make matters worse, his literary agent and close friend has announced that she&rsquo;s cutting her ties with him. Martin needs just one more successful book to turn his life around, but his damaged brain&ndash;and the staff&ndash;seem to have other plans.</p>