The Water Lilies of Mishipeshu

A hidden botanical manuscript sparks a centuries-long battle between profit and preservation, leaving a trail of murder, madness and encounters with the supernatural.

By Karla Cruise

In the midst of war and cultural upheaval, Marguerite, a half-French, half-Native American woman, and her British lieutenant lover create a botanical manuscript at a wilderness outpost. This manuscript holds the secrets of an ancient medicine society, including a dangerous recipe for a hallucinogen that can grant prophetic powers or kill. As foreign invaders sweep across the land, generations work to preserve and conceal this "lost" manuscript.

The story unfolds over centuries, from the burning of a local fort by Native American tribes to the rise of White settlers and industrialists. Despite attempts to erase indigenous culture, the manuscript endures, hidden away until a young graduate student discovers it by chance. Her find sparks a race against time to protect the manuscript from a powerful pharmaceutical company. Join her on a thrilling subterranean adventure with an ecology student as they strive to restore the land and return the manuscript to its rightful owners.

In a tale woven with history, myth, and the enduring power of nature, Mishipeshu, the Algonquin goddess, reappears to foretell the world's destruction and rebirth. Will the manuscript’s secrets bring harmony or chaos? Discover the answer in The Water Lilies of Mishipeshu.