Lionel Cantrell and Eli James have been friends since childhood. Lionel is now the president-elect and Eli his chief of staff. There’s so much the duo hope to accomplish in a Cantrell presidency. But one thing may stand in the way: Lionel has colon cancer and his doctors have given him less than two years to live. If Lionel dies, his vice president, the former Texas Governor Yancey, would take over. The powers that be, led by the egomaniacal General Kyle Randolph, want to avoid that outcome. Randolph, joined by FBI Director Beth McGee, and Homeland Security Secretary Robert Bellamy, have a plan. For seven years they have withheld from the American people that there is a cure for cancer. Now, they can save Cantrell’s life and they believe, the country, by giving him Boomerang, the name given to this medication.
Why would the government prevent a cancer cure from reaching the marketplace where it could save so many lives? Because billions of dollars fuel the nation’s oncology market. “What would a miracle pill do to the industry?” Randolph tells Lionel. “How many jobs do you think would be lost? How much money?” Even rolling out this miracle drug, Randolph contends, would be a nightmare. But, he stresses to Lionel, it can be used to save the president’s life and continue his presidency.
Lionel is given the key to a hidden safe in his closet that holds the Boomerang pills. Randolph assures him that the medicine will do its job. Within a few months Lionel’s cancer will disappear and his doctors will believe the radiation and chemo he endured did their job. But a complication occurs. Eli’s only daughter, Bella, is diagnosed with mucinous adenocarcinoma, a rare lung cancer with no cure. Eli knew about Lionel’s cancer and seeing the president’s health improving, he becomes suspicious. When Lionel learns that his teenaged goddaughter, Bella, has terminal cancer, he’s tempted to tell Eli about Boomerang. But he knows he can’t cross Randolph, who knows things from Lionel’s past that could doom his presidency. So Lionel denies he has had access to any miracle drug. Eli isn’t convinced. He will do anything to save his daughter, even if it means risking his job and his life.
Eli’s wife, Dale, is a well-known litigator whose biggest client is Nestor Sanchez, a powerful criminal and drug lord who lives in New Mexico. After Dale’s father died, her mother took Dale and her sister to Albuquerque. That’s where Dale met and fell in love with Nester, but knew she couldn’t marry him. She moved to Washington, DC, met and married Eli, but continued to represent Nester. Now Dale knows that Nester will be able to help her and save her daughter.
Dale and Eli’s marriage has been on the rocks for years. Eli’s current affair is with Sarah Kate Moss, a lobbyist for Big Pharma. When he presses her for information, she reluctantly gives him a lead. Someone was selling a supposed cancer cure at farmer’s markets in the south. That’s all she knows, but it’s enough for Eli to launch an investigation. He enlists his mother, Foncie, a skilled investigator, to help. He also touches base with his father, a brilliant physician, but also a womanizer and a drunk. Frank and Fonzie have been divorced for years. But Foncie convinces Eli that Frank James would have insight about Bella’s condition and if a cancer cure might exist. Eli makes that visit but it places Frank in danger. When Frank doesn’t answer his cellphone, Eli knows his father is dead.
Bella’s cancer diagnosis brings Eli and Dale together with a common cause – saving their daughter. Eli knows he’s being watched and must be careful. Besides Frank, others have died, including the person who invented Boomerang and the first woman who was cured. Eli worries that he, Dale, and Bella may be next. He convinces Dale to take Bella to Houston for a drug trial being run at MD Anderson. Bella doesn’t endure the trial well, losing weight and becoming very weak. Knowing they are being followed, Dale and Bella, with Nester’s help, escape to New Mexico. Eli hopes he can convince Lionel to give him the drug to save Bella’s life. If he succeeds, he can meet his family in New Mexico and Bella can begin taking Boomerang.
Robert Bailey’s Boomerang is a tense, thrilling ride. He presents a plot that may seem far fetched, but in this day and age of conspiracy theories and a general distrust of elected officials and the federal government, is one that may have some readers wondering: is there a cure for cancer?
Boomerang
Robert Bailey
Top photo: Bigstock
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