The Syrian Heart

THE SYRIAN HEART by Les Rowley leslieprowley@gmail.com Synopsis Where life had no value, death had its price… Londoner, Adrian Augustus Roxan, (70+), is a respected philanthropist who throws his wealth and energy behind pioneering medical research projects. Without warning, he is forced to turn that generosity on himself after being diagnosed with a coronary illness that requires a heart transplant. Roxan possesses rare blood which narrows down the potential UK donors. With little hope of finding a heart through the NHS, he sets about establishing an independent research unit to find a match even if that means venturing overseas - something not allowed in the UK. A donor is located. She is a 25-year-old Syrian migrant washed up on a Greek beach. However, there's a problem - the potential donor is still alive. What do you do if you have all the money in the world and the opportunity to prolong your own life? It is the dilemma facing Roxan, forced to choose between his own existence and that of a young peasant girl. His dark past makes the decision an easy one, and he uses his associates to dupe the NHS into performing the operation by setting up a bogus donor from the north of England to mask his real intentions. Roxan calls on former colleague, Frank Finley, who has his own debt to Roxan, to travel to Greece, and bring back the Syrian but it is not without is subterfuge. Will Roxan get his new heart or will the criminal intent unravel as he relies on the underworld to deliver an extra decade of good living? Things never run smoothly.