The Flag Burner

By: Patrick Babin

Narrated by: Prasan Nundlal

This is a love story unlike any you have ever heard. Join Mark Caan on his journey to save his soul. After a brush with death, he confesses to an unthinkable crime. A crime that could send him to jail for the rest of his life.

His confession takes us back to his freshman year in college. There he meets and falls in love with Brother Byron, a soon-to-be priest and charismatic anti-war protester. Together they form a relationship that challenges the norms of what love means and to what ends it will take them.

The times are chaotic. It is 1968. The Vietnam war dominates the airwaves. The nightly news brings the war’s death and destruction into America’s living rooms with vivid details while the ominous threat of the draft haunts every young man’s psyche. The hippie culture is emerging and confronting the establishment head on. Anti-war protests are taking place on Main streets and college campuses across the country. The sweeping wave of rebellion, against the rules that had governed generations of the past, are reflected in its radically evolving music. Old perceptions about love, sex, drugs and war are all being challenged. After decades of struggle, and with the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King, the civil rights movement is reaching a combustible crescendo. As this historic backdrop unfolds, Mark and Byron must navigate their undeniable sexual attraction. Their lust for each other is palpable. Mark is quickly drawn into Byron's universe of anti-establishment idealism and disdain for political injustice.

But, as their relationship intensifies, they are confronted by the reality of the ignorance and self loathing imposed upon them by the teachings of the church and society. As Mark’s poignant confession gradually unfolds, it reveals a love that is layered with strength, sensuality, regret, and forgiveness.

©2021 patrick babin (P)2021 patrick babin