Lost Identity

Marco Meyer's wife Suzanna has left him for fellow journalist Karl Ngwenya. After Ngwenya's death, Marco, determined to outdo Ngwenya, takes over his investigation into exports of fake drugs from Amsterdam to African countries. From the outset Marco finds himself hopelessly out of his depth, isolated in east Africa, with no one to trust. Eventually, stripped of his dignity and his identity, Marco struggles to maintain his grip on the one hope that sustains him – Suzanna. This exciting and moving story follows the journalist's struggle with love, betrayal, murder and his own identity. It was written in 1983 under the title 'Een Welkomen Dood', before the advent of the internet, mobile phone and post 9/11 tightening of international security. It was produced by the author in English in 2008 under the title Lost Identity. The issue of exports of substandard and counterfeit chemicals and drugs to developing countries remains as current as when the novel was first written. Simon Geschwindt, born 1949, is a freelance journalist specializing in corporate social responsibility and the environment. He is married with five children, and lives in Johannesburg.