Beyond Year Zero

A troubled Australian journalist dives deep into the seedy heart of Cambodia, destroying the life of everyone he encounters—and his own…

Cambodia—seething hotbed of desperation and vice. The Khmer Rouge fighters are long dead but their murderous legacy has left a population gripped by violence. Into this cauldron of psychosis and trauma steps Carl Meissner, a 32-year-old unemployed investigative journalist recently fired over his reporting of a pedophile scandal involving a prominent Sydney judge. Carl has been hired by a wealthy Sydney businessman to find his missing twin brother, last sighted in Cambodia.

Forced to face his own demons, he sinks into Cambodia's dark underworld of child pornography, human-organ trafficking, personal and political corruption, cannibalism, incest and drugs.

Getting into this dangerous breeding ground of insanity is one thing. Getting out is another…

A gritty, pacey crime thriller set in the dark heart of Cambodia.

©2022 Lawrence Held (P)2022 W. F. Howes Ltd