Paythan (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798987517109)

Paythan Burke is a Lakota Indian who is passionate about his people and

their plight. The tribe provides a scholarship into a university where he drafts a mysterious screenplay referencing Crazy Horse and his role in the history of the Black Hills. A protest there draws him to those sacred lands, to protect and give voice to the families of the missing and murdered. But his sister disappears when law enforcement breaks up the gathering. Not long after his search for her begins, Paythan uncovers something much bigger in his quest when he also goes missing. That is when we meet Maka Mahpiya.

Maka persevered through the hardships of reservation subsistence to become a special taskforce US Marshal. She earns her badge and gun, but respect does not come readily for a female Native American law enforcement officer. Cartels, white supremacists, corruption in the higher powers create a maze of deceit, murder and human trafficking. Not knowing whom to trust, Maka puts her faith in the talents of Alan Fitzgerald, a famous Hollywood screenwriter, one of the last people to have seen Paythan.

Together, Maka and Alan begin to uncover a series of clues left by Paythan in the search for his sister. The duo finds themselves in unfamiliar territory as feelings begin to heighten between them and a new romance starts. Something much larger and more evil confronts this unlikely couple in the challenge of their lives. To survive, they must reach beyond not only the limits of their personal comfort zones, but even what they believe they are capable of as individuals.

Paythan is a story based on actual events. Kim Marie took up the tale after the passing of its original author and her mentor, Christopher Knopf. The intensity of the story and honoring her mentor compelled Kim to bring it to a resolution. This passionate drama unflinchingly confronts some of our most disturbing societal issues. Its power clearly plumbed the depths of these authors' hearts and is now reaching out to you.