The Trials of Serra Blue

Serra Blue, rebel, runaway, child of the 60s, begins the novel asking for forgiveness. Earlier, she escaped from the Bogota airport, only to be caught for smuggling cocaine. As she prepares for her "trial" it's hard to tell who is on her side. In court she and Lucy receive 4 years in a prison run by nuns. How they learn to survive and grow within Colombia's corrupt legal system is half the story. Through flashbacks, we learn of Serra's mother's death, her difficult stepmother, her time in California. In a gamble for love, she chooses someone as broken as herself. For James, she's willing to smuggle once. Each chapter brings us closer to the moment of the bust. We learn of her romantic fantasy of James, shattered when she finds him in Peru, paranoid, strung-out, struggling. A rival wants him dead; his partner betrays him. In prison, she befriends a nun and a revolutionary, grapples with loss, betrayal, and redemption, grows spiritually and finally discovers who she values.