Holy Smoke

by Anna Campion

The story begins in late November 1998 with an Australian family's decision to rescue their daughter Ruth from the attentions of an Indian Guru. Feeling overwhelmed and frightened, they're persuaded to invest heavily in the services of an American cult specialist, PJ Waters. "Three little steps," he says, having looked into Ruth's eyes and judged them willing.... "It could all be over in twenty-four hours." Two days later, out in the Australian bush, the balance of power has slowly shifted between counselor and client. The promised return to order has given way to seductive chaos. Alternating between the voices of Ruth and PJ, we hear both sides of the "deprogramming," questioning our assumptions about patriarchy, gender, and the contemporary search for connection. What starts as a spiritual struggle about the nature of belief becomes an erotic and disturbing tale of sexual obsession, forcing Ruth and PJ to explore a relationship neither had wanted to make.