What if an ancient Sanskrit text holds the answers to today's deepest problems? What if the past-the ancient past-can help us unlock both our present and our future?

That's the dilemma facing Justin Davis, a brilliant but greatly troubled West Virginia teen, struggling with his father's brutal murder and his once-wealthy family's loss of money, status, dignity, and hope. Broken, angry, and bitter, Justin has all but given up on life. But then, on his fifteenth birthday, his mother presents him with a mysterious gift: a copy of The First Avatāra, a lush, beautifully illustrated book relating the immemorial legend of Krṣṇa. When evil Asura forces attacked the idyllic planet of Bhū-loka and threatened to enslave its inhabitants, Krṣṇa, the first Avatāra, descended to that world in its darkest hour and fought to save its people and preserve its way of life.

Enthralled by the tale, Justin enters the story as much more than just a reader, and is challenged to undertake a hero's journey of his own, not just through time, but also into the depths of his own soul. In the process, he will experience love, loss, courage, and sacrifice that compel him to cast aside a life of self-pity and indulgence, and heroically confront a startling evil that threatens his family, and the world.

Howard Resnick