Sin No More

by Peter Rizzolo

A young pediatrician, Dr. Frank Tupelo, and his bride, Tina, a nurse, go to a small Bahamian island where they work in a free clinic that cares for Haitian immigrants who have fled the oppressive regime of Jean Claude Duvalier, dictator of Haiti. Carlos, orphaned at age fifteen, joined Jean Claude Duvalier’s paramilitary wing known as the Tonton Macoute. He is physically imposing and ruthless and quickly rises in the paramilitary ranks. Carlos participated in atrocities, often against innocent Haitians believed to be enemies of Jean Claude Duvalier. He falls in love with Maria, a young upper-class Haitian woman. She introduces him to Father Simmione, who inspires Carlos to acknowledge his sinfulness and resolves to sin no more. A military coupe deposes Jean Claude and confiscates all funds in the Banka Nationale, where Carlos kept his life savings. He is determined to retrieve his money. He and his cousin, Armand, execute a daring heist of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Haitian Military. They escape to Provo Island, where they stumble onto the clinic where the American doctor and his wife are working. Armand has been shot in the abdomen and is near death. Carlos, at gunpoint, forces them to operate and afterward takes them hostage.

297 pages, Hardcover

Published June 11, 2022