Twenty-three year old Winifred (Winnie) Dorfinkle dreams of becoming a successful actress. She’s a full time student at the Thespian Drama Academy in New York City. Born of a Jewish father and Irish Catholic mother, she’s brought up lightly embracing Roman Catholic protocol. In particular, Winnie questions her devoutness of attending confession. In fact, Winnie’s frequent confessional visits at St.Patrick’s Cathedral, are directed solely to young Father Forbish Nesbitt. Her admissions are never even close to Papal sin classification. She’s actually infatuated with the young Priest. Winnie dreams that romance with the young prelate could be a reality.
Father Nesbitt desires to live in a world with peace, serenity, and tranquility for all. He interprets his change of attitude from being a combatant Navy SEAL to a calling from his Catholic roots. It was Nesbitt’s last engagement against Al Qaeda in Iraq that sparked such enlightenment. Islamic Extremists, he recalls, do not define their targets as the enemy. They use words like non-believers, infidels, and violators of Allah’s will. Nesbitt’s change from soldier to Priest comes from his perception that Islamic Jihadists are but Muslim church goers. They’re also just a small percentage of radicals using violence to convert other religions of the world. Nesbitt becomes a champion of peace at St. Patrick’s.
Further complicating the lives of Winnie and Nesbitt, and unbeknownst to either, is the resultant outcome of Nesbitt’s last combat action in Iraq. Both Nesbitt and an Islamic innocent, Omar Shahidi, are the sole survivors from that suicide Al Qaeda confrontation that took the lives of Shahidi’s parents and brother. Nesbitt subsequently directs his life to the church. Shahidi, however, dedicates his life to a Jihadist mission to track down Nesbitt, who he perceives as the killer of his family. Shahidi must find and kill Nesbitt regardless of collateral fatalities in New York City.
The World of Winifred Dorfinkle is a blending of life today comprised of serenity and terrorism; peace and violence; compassion and despair; joy and tears. The players’ unique perspectives on life turns a comedy of errors into a page-turning thriller.
Author Peter Glassman 