About the Book

“Coming of Age” unfolds against the backdrop of the Counter Culture and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. It begins in Rome, where Charlie Weaver, a young English actor, revolts against the cynical manipulation of agents and directors. Tired of playing other people, he wants to command his own destiny. His youthful desire to be a soldier is rekindled by Udo, a German mercenary, whose exploits are  motivated by altruistic ideals! They recruit a band of soldiers and conmen at the Hoffbrauhaus in Munich, and embark on an impossible mission….to steal from the biggest drug cartel in Germany! Charlie falls in love in Munich and is torn between the mission and Ingrid, a beautiful German student. Her efforts to dissuade him from a violent lifestyle are overcome by Charlie’s primitive need to prove himself in battle. The attack on the drug cartel proves to be bloody, and deadly. Charlie is devastated by regret and remorse. He realizes that being a soldier of fortune is not for him, and is no longer comforted by the rationalization that killing in self-defense is justified. He returns to Ingrid, and realizes that what she had once told him resonates in his soul as the highest truth: “Love is victory!”

“Striving for safety in life is the most dangerous thing in the world…. Boredom can kill you!”  -Anon